Letters to Attawapiskat organizer Jayal Chung, right, and a group of Thunder Bay citizens hold up some of the letters that were sent to Attawapiskat and Cross Lake in Manitoba on April 26 through her letter-writing initiative.
Photo by Rick Garrick
A group of Thunder Bay citizens have sent letters of support to youth in Attawapiskat and Cross Lake in Manitoba thanks to letter-writing organizer Jayal Chung.
“I wanted to connect with youth after seeing many articles (and) coverage about youth suicide rates,” Chung says. “I felt connected wanting to do something.”
Chung sent out the letters on April 26 after meeting with youth and adults on April 21 at the Waverly Library and on April 22 at Definitely Superior Art Gallery to write the letters.
“Thanks so much again for coming by to write a letter or drop-in to include yours with ours as a package,” Chung says in an e-mail to the letter writers. “Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that I have sent the letters/package to the youth committee in Attawapiskat and the youth in Cross Lake. Before heading to the post office, I asked a friend, Helen Pelletier, to smudge the letters as well as it felt like a good approach to sending our messages.”
Chung enjoyed working with the other people on the letter writing initiative, which she initiated on April 18 through a post on Facebook.
“It’s been really awesome to see a lot of people I haven’t met before,” Chung says. “Some people don’t really know too much about the issue but know about the youth suicide that is happening, so I brought some articles to share.”
Chung began the letter writing initiative after seeing people sharing address information for both Cross Lake and Attawapiskat.
“I thought it was a great way to connect with the youth,” Chung says. “I feel that receiving messages of support and receiving positive affirmations can make a difference when you are having a difficult time.”
Chung developed the idea for the letter writing initiative after following the joint inquest into the deaths of seven Nishnawbe Aski Nation high school students in Thunder Bay.
“I wanted to find a way to gather and just have a space for people to know that there are people who care here in Thunder Bay and that are thinking of other youth.”
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