Stabbing death of 14-year-old highlights need for more mental health support for Manitoba youth, say experts

The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth said the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old girl, allegedly by another teen, highlights a mental health crisis facing youth in this province.

"It's a very sad and complicated situation because it affects the whole community," Sherry Gott said of Friday's deadly attack on the girl in downtown Winnipeg.

"That's very young to die such a violent death." 

A 17-year-old boy she and two other girls had been socializing with that afternoon has been charged with second-degree murder in the girl's death, police said Tuesday.

Gott confirmed her office has received a child death notification for the young victim.

Her office will look into whether the girl had been accessing any public services, such as education or mental health supports, and whether she'd been involved in the child welfare system.

Such reviews can bring attention to ways in which these services might be improved, Gott said.

"There is a mental health crisis in Manitoba, especially with our youth, and they need support," she said.

She pointed to the advocate's report into the 2020 death of Eishia Hudson, who was fatally shot by police, as having led to an initiative to work with the Winnipeg Police Service on improving relationships with youth who come into contact with law enforcement.

The report recommended creating a special response unit to address youth in crisis, said Gott.

"They have a similar response team that addresses mental health in adults," she said. "And there's nothing for youth."

Pandemic isolation took toll on youth: advocate

Children and teenagers need more support than ever following restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the advocate said.

"We were in lockdown for quite some time," said Gott.

"Three years is a long time in people's lives, especially youth. They were isolated at home and have to learn all their social skills again," she said.

Some key developmental phases may have passed some young people by. 

"Eleven to 14, that's quite an age difference, right?" said Gott, offering that range as an example. "By then we should have developed our relationships going into high school. So there's a piece missing."

A longtime community activist who works with youth in downtown Winnipeg agreed, saying the pandemic has deeply impacted young people's mental health.

"I think we're in a societal, post-trauma situation where there's depression, there's anxiety, there's conflict," said Mitch Bourbonniere, adding that these mental health issues often drive addiction, suicide, homelessness and violence.

"There's a lot of misery right now, unfortunately."

Bourbonniere said the girl's death has had a ripple effect on the community. Some of the youth he works with know the victim, and are struggling with a sense of confusion and pain, he said.

"My heart is swollen with grief," said Bourbonniere. "This is just a horrible, horrible incident in our city."

He said it's rare that a child will turn on another in the same social group, as police allege happened in this attack.

He said while anecdotally, he hasn't noticed an uptick in youth violence in Winnipeg, he also hasn't seen much improvement.

"This is still happening, and one death like this is too many."

'Everyone should have a mentor'

Bourbonniere works with Huddle in St. Boniface, one of a network of groups across the city that offers a trauma-informed and culturally aware safe space to Winnipeggers aged 12-29.

"What's evolved in the last several years is this notion of wraparound services, a kinship model of becoming an uncle or an auntie to a young person," he said.

"Everyone should have someone in their corner. Everyone should have a mentor, a navigator," he said. 

Bourbonniere pointed to a list of organizations working with vulnerable youth in that way, including Inner City Youth Alive, a Christian group that offers a drop-in centre in Winnipeg's North End.

ICYA strives to build relationships to help young people grow and thrive — "something as simple as just being present with someone and just listening to their story," said executive director Kent Dueck.

"For many of our youth, no one is listening to them," he said. Having someone who will listen can offer children living in traumatic home situations an important feeling of validation, he said.

"Many of us have relational networks, and we don't realize how much we rely on them," said Dueck.

"For many youths, their pain comes within the context of relationship, and their healing also comes within the context of relationships," he added. "So I think it does come down to supportive relationships."

He said he's seen fewer police foot patrols in the North End over the years. Those patrols used to contribute to greater connection between officers and young people, he said.

Another worrisome trend is a seemingly longer response time for ambulances, which he said "are just swamped by the number of deaths by overdose."

Still, he said he's also seen public officials' "willingness to take the steps that need to be taken."

"We've actually seen a downtick in incidents in our drop-in centre, and we've seen things kind of improve," said Dueck.

"I am cautiously optimistic — probably more cautious than optimistic, though."