Closing critical gaps in Indigenous youth mental health through national initiative

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY — A national initiative to improve Indigenous youth mental health co-led by Pays Plat’s Chris Mushquash recently received an additional $10.8 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

“This is an incredible opportunity for our network to help close critical gaps by cultivating a trust-based collaborative learning environment across Canada,” says Mushquash, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction, professor in the Department of Psychology at Lakehead University, vice president of research at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and chief scientist at Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. “With this investment, we can translate knowledge into real-life improvements for Indigenous youth, ensuring that services are more culturally grounded, accessible, and responsive to community needs. Being able to co-lead this work from northwestern Ontario, and specifically Thunder Bay, is deeply significant as it reflects both the challenges and strengths of the communities we serve.”

Mushquash is co-leading the initiative along with Srividya Iyer, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Youth, Mental Health and Learning Health Systems, and professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University.

“We’ve been developing a national network to support Indigenous youth mental health and wellness,” Mushquash says. “What we’re trying to do is develop a relational and trust-based learning network through collaborations with Indigenous youth, Elders, knowledge holders, families, community leaders, but also researchers and clinicians to enhance the health and wellness services in a way that are respectful and grounded in culture. They understand the context and are responsive to the needs of Indigenous youth and, importantly, it’s community-driven.”

Mushquash notes that a large group of co-investigators and team members is also involved with the initiative.

“It’s a four-year project, but it builds upon the work that we’ve been doing over the last number of years,” Mushquash says. “Our network is quite large, we’ve got more than 175 members — among those members [are] youth, family members, care givers, Elders, knowledge holders, community people, leading Indigenous organizations, as well as national organizations like the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, the First Peoples Wellness Circle, local organizations like Dilico Anishinabek Family Care in Fort William First Nation, as well as a national youth council group called the Ways of the Heart Youth Council. We’ve got representatives from each province, each territory, and we’re always open to meeting new partners and working collaboratively together.”

The project’s goals are to build community capacity, nurture the next generation of Indigenous and allied leaders, and weave Indigenous knowledge systems into service delivery.

“What we know is that our young people tend to benefit from services and supports that meet their needs as they need them, that are influenced and co-developed and directed in collaboration with youth, but also Elders and their family members,” Mushquash says. “But we also know there are needs when it comes to measurement and data and evaluation services so that we can continue to work on ensuring that the things we’re implementing work as intended. Our network is a collection of people, all with these same goals who are coming together to share knowledge, to partner and to collaborate to try and produce a system that meets the needs of our young people.”

The initiative is part of the ACCESS Open Minds Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness Network.

“Lakehead University is committed to serving the communities we are proud to be part of, and that includes driving progress through research to improve health outcomes for Indigenous youth here in northwestern Ontario and across Canada,” says Langis Roy, vice-president, Research and Innovation at Lakehead University. “This project demonstrates the vital role universities play in advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and partnering with communities to create meaningful, lasting change in society.”