On-the-land program aims to destigmatize substance use

After running three successful editions of its Nallikaaqtaka — My Choices program for people dealing with substance use issues, Nunavik’s health board is planning three more sessions this year. A five-day program, it aims to offer a safe space where participants can get away from alcohol or drugs and be involved in traditional on-the-land activities. The most recent session ended May 29 in Kuujjuaq.

This program is for “any person who wishes to do something about their consumption,” said Elizabeth Murray, a planning, programming and research officer for substance use and addiction at the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services. “The aim is to destigmatize it,” she said.

The on-the-land activities, mixed with traditional clinical consultations, are for people who want to stop or pause their consumption — or just get away for a while — and be accompanied while they do it. Murray calls it a “targeted prevention program for addiction.” The program model is used in other Indigenous communities in Canada, in this case adapted for Nunavik.