Local food group invites support of Attawapiskat youth

County residents are invited to join a local initiative to support the children of Attawapiskat with donations of items, or letters of support.

The northern Ontario First Nations community has been headline news over the past few months to shine light on a suicide and drug overdose crisis. Promises of more mental health support have been made on provincial and federal levels.

Reports state as many as 100 youth in Attawapiskat’s community of 2,100 people have tried to kill themselves, sparking panic among First Nation’s leaders, who recently declared a state of emergency as a call for help.

“We are reaching out to people in the County to help us in collecting items to send to the kids of Attawapiskat,” said Mary Sinclair, inviting donations before Wednesday’s Food Not Bombs free food gathering.

Donations sought include: new sports equipment, art and craft supplies, music cds, movies, outside fun things like bubbles, new clothes, hardly used or read at all young adult fiction books or letters of support. You get the idea these little things in life that can make someone feel better.

“In order to make this happen in a timely manner we would like to have everything collected at the next Food Not Bombs event Wed., May 4th at the Picton Town Hall 5 – 7 pm. Food Not Bombs is a group of independent collectives around the world that serves free, healthy vegan food through community meals in public spaces. It is not a charity, but a social movement. The local group also distributes free food to take away.

If you would like to make a donation, but are unable to attend the event, call Mary Sinclair at 613 476 8291.