CREATeS aims to support community and youth engagement towards effective action that reduces suicide and fosters mental wellness among Arctic Indigenous youth and communities. This project sustains and builds on circumpolar efforts in suicide prevention through ongoing collaboration across Arctic states and builds on the SDWG’s Hope and Resilience Conference (2009), Sharing Hope project (2013-15) and the RISING SUN initiative (2015-17). In the last of the RISING SUN workshops participants highlighted the need for further engagement at the community level, and community-based action, complemented by a strong endorsement for youth empowerment. Project CREATeS is responding to this feedback by emphasizing engagement with communities and youth as the foundation and impetus for ongoing implementation of suicide prevention and mental wellness initiatives of the SDWG. This engagement also provides an opportunity for knowledge translation, informing youth and communities about the ongoing activities of the SDWG in the areas of suicide prevention and resilience.
Arctic Council Working Group