Haines Junction resident walks to Yukon communities for mental health awareness

Walking has been an essential part of one person's healing journey and he's inviting Yukoners to join, virtually or in-person.

Terrence Buyck lost his brother to suicide in June. The Haines Junction resident, originally from Mayo and a citizen of Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation, is now walking to communities in the Yukon. His project is called One Step, One Day: Yukon Healing Journey. One of the goals is to take conversations about mental health, substance use, and suicide where he goes. 

"I know it's not just one community, there's so many communities that are feeling how I feel," he said.

Buyck, who says he's also lost several friends over his lifetime to mental health and substance use challenges, says he started this walk for people who are grieving and out of his own desire to do something as a tribute.

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The walk, which began in Mayo at the end of last week, will continue for about four weeks.

It includes flying up to Old Crow, and walking down to Whitehorse, with many stops along the way. It will include stops in Ross River, Watson Lake, Teslin, Carcross, Haines Junction, Dawson, Carmacks and more. Several partners such as the Council of Yukon First Nations, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and Warrior Walkers Alliance are making the trip possible through funding and in-kind donations like personnel support and outreach.

'Continuous grief'

Across the North, rates of suicide are higher than the Canadian average. In the Yukon, between 2013 and 2020, the age-standardized suicide mortality rate (ASMR) was 22.4 per 100,000 people, whereas the Canadian average was 11.7. The data, cited in the 2021 Yukon Health Status Report, is calculated using a formula from the World Health Organization.

Diane Strand, a volunteer organizer for the walk, says there have been too many deaths in First Nations communities in the Yukon. 

As a result, community members are suffering compounded grief, she says, because they don't have time to catch their breath in between the deaths. 

Strand says that while most people have heard about post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, she believes many community members who are suffering loss are experiencing what she refers to as "active traumatic stress disorder," or "ATSD."

"We're actively in this continuous grief," she said.

"We need some awareness. We need to do something."

Buyck says the journey is about taking the time to gather people so that they feel supported, even in their grief. He also said that much of his healing happens through walking. 

"It's definitely gonna be a hard [journey] just thinking about my little brother … it's going to be a good healing process and I think this is the best way that I could deal with it," he said.

Buyck says Yukon residents can join the walk in-person by seeing when he is arriving or leaving their community via the Facebook page schedule. Alternatively, people can sign up to do a virtual walk with the project, also through the Facebook page.
 

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• In Yukon, call the Reach Out Support Line 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-844-533-3030.

• Hope For Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310 (phone, available in Inuktitut, Cree and Ojibway upon request).

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.

• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.

This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.