Kashechewan First Nation residents starting to head back home

As members of the Kashechewan First Nation get ready to start to return home, the chief says the annual evacuation is taking a toll on his community.

Each year, thousands of people from Kashechewan are moved out to escape the floodwater from the Albany River.

This year, residents were moved out in mid-April and stayed in a number of communities across the region, including Timmins, Cochrane, Thunder Bay and Kapuskasing.

"It's a lot of stress and a lot of work when there's an evacuation," Chief Leo Friday said. "It's a lot of mentally distressed problems for the community."

Friday said a big concern is the effect the urban environment has on youth.

"[There are] concerns about our young people being on alcohol and drugs and it's really hard for the parents to live in the urban centres in the hotels not knowing where their teenagers are," he said.

"Some of them are living close to the highway or main street where traffic is really busy. That's a thing that worries a lot of parents."

He says the stress of the situation causes problems with some couples, including some deciding to break up.

"That's happened," he said. 

He says another issue is when illegal drugs get back into the community.

"The kids are really into drugs and it's hard to treat them when they get home," he said.

Friday says most people can't wait to go back home and start fresh again.

"Home is not their urban centre," he said. "Home is where they come from and that's where they feel better."

Friday says he will be very busy when he gets home, working with the federal and provincial government on its promise to relocate the community to higher ground. Earlier this month, an agreement was signed to make that move within eight to 10 years.