To Attawapiskat, with love, from Prince Edward County

Susanne Larner, Maeve Sanderson and Shelby Larner creating drawings and writing letters of support for the children of Attawapiskat

County residents packaged gifts, books, drawings and letters of support destined for the children of Attawapiskat this week.

Maeve’s start to a letter to children in Attawapiskat

Mary Sinclair, one of the organizers, thanks Jeanette Arsenault, who volunteered to drive the donations to a collection depot in Ottawa – with the message “To Attawapiskat, with love, from Prince Edward County.”

The northern Ontario First Nations community has been headline news over the past few months due to an increased 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 reached out to people in the County to help us in collecting items to send to the kids of Attawapiskat,” said Sinclair, at last Wednesday’s Food Not Bombs free food gathering. The drive was supported by Food Not Bombs, but spearheaded by Sinclair with Erin Johnston and Celeste Hill.

Donations sought included 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.

Jeanette Arsenault volunteered to drive the donations to a depot in Ottawa.