The conference opened on a positive note with keynote speaker Wayne Hammond explaining why we need to nurture the ability to thrive among our young people, not just survive. Instead of being influenced by the medical model and labelling young people as having problems that need solutions, Dr. Hammond encouraged delegates to help them build on their strengths, a message that seemed to resonate with many in the audience.

“There are challenging kids,” he acknowledged. “When they act out, they’re just trying to survive and meet their needs, using non-functional ways.” It’s critical to have strong relationships with youth, he said. “The values and behaviour of people will always change in the context of relationships, not programs.”

Aboriginal panel closed conference

The conference closed the following afternoon with a four-person Aboriginal panel that ran the gamut of issues. Dave Jones, founder of Turtle Concepts, spoke of how he tried to follow advice to “be good” by studying hard and staying away from alcohol and drugs, only to be told by his peers and even some family members that he was a loser who “thinks he’s so good” and acted white. Today, he works with groups of young people in an effort to make it “cool to be uncool”.

Carol Rowland, a special projects director with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, spoke of her work dealing with young people in a “nation under siege for 150 years.” Prevention, treatment, intervention and screening, follow-up and after-care, and nation building are all part of the healing work her group is attempting to do, always with a shortage of resources.

Some delegates were brought to tears by Chief Veronica Waboose who spoke of her reserve’s problems with prescription drug abuse, which the band council felt powerless to stop. When she and others called Crime Stoppers in an attempt to deal with the issue, 11 people were arrested, including parents, leaving the children behind to suffer. She spoke of her own granddaughter’s attempts to deal with her drug addiction and concluded her talk by saying, “I ask you to pray for us.”

Former Ontario Regional Chief Charles Fox told of his harrowing experiences, being taken from his home at the age of 8, without his parents’ knowledge, to live in a residential school, where his hair was forcibly cut off, he was forbidden from speaking his language, beaten and sexually abused. He didn’t get home again until he was 20 years old and had to be re-taught his native language and ways.

“You ask what’s wrong with us?” he said, noting that he initially continued the cycle by abusing his own children before going through a healing process. “The core matter of the cancer is a lack of foundation of who we are as a people.”

When a delegate asked at the end of the panel presentations how the injury prevention community can help, she was told that we must be open to hearing the stories of Aboriginals.

Four funerals in a single day

Delegates were also visibly moved during the presentation of Kelly Rider, a volunteer speaker for MADD Canada. Kelly spoke of losing her cherished teenaged brother in a multi-car crash eight years ago that also took the lives of four other teens. She told of attending four funerals at the same funeral home in a single day.

The impact of one person’s driving can have a massive effect on the lives of many, she noted. In this case, the 17-year-old driver had smoked marijuana then drove, crashing into a tractor-trailer and causing a chain reaction. Kelly said she dislikes public speaking but talks to young people in high schools to encourage them to make good decisions and to try to prevent such tragedies.

Other conference highlights

The conference also had its lighter moments, including a guided tour of the historical Fort Williams, complete with costumed tour guides and an introduction to more primitive first-aid methods, before the gala dinner. Keynote speaker Peter Levesque spoke to delegates after the dinner about knowledge mobilization – while receiving updates on the Stanley Cup hockey game through text messages from his wife – which he shared with the group, many who were keenly interested in the game’s outcome.

In between the keynotes, delegates attended a variety of concurrent sessions that dealt with issues through the life course, focusing particularly on children, youth and seniors; road safety; and community issues. Presentations ranged widely and included such diverse issues as the introduction of body checking in hockey

• the use of Photovoice among high school students
• a successful implementation of a prevention program for Shaken Baby Syndrome
• a panel discussion on the national violence prevention strategy
• another panel discussion on a program to reduce alcohol-related injuries and death among recreational vehicle users
• injuries among seniors
• a wide variety of traffic injury programs and research
• a number of substance-abuse prevention programs
• and workplace injury issues and community issues

About OIPC 2007

The conference was presented by SMARTRISK in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion, the Ontario Public Health Association, and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, and sponsored by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and Insurance Bureau of Canada.