The Okanagan Nation Response Team (ONRT) helps our people find healthy life-choosing paths and provides crisis response and trainings.
ONRT provides community based support in response to suicide and suicidal behaviour, substance use-related crises and other crisis situations in community to support families and promote protective factors against suicide for our youth and Nation members.
Our mission in supporting communities within the Syilx Okanagan Nation is to prevent and respond to suicide and suicidal ideations/behaviours, and other crises, while promoting protective factors against suicide, with the aim of creating stability for the Syilx Okanagan and its members.
Services
The ONRT Community Coordinators supports the ONRT members in each community to respond to crisis. ONRT members provide education on suicide awareness, depression, self-harm, grief and lateral violence to any of the member communities.
ONRT aims to build community capacity, create strong peer networks, and support the wellbeing of individuals, families and community through various activities:
- Culturally safe response, intervention, emotional, cultural and peer support, resource navigation, advocacy and referrals.
- Prevention education and workshops to staff, community members and youth between the ages of 12 and up on suicide prevention and intervention, as well as grief and loss.
- Family circles and debriefing to allow individuals to express their experiences and provide on-site stabilization and de-escalation when required.
- Collaborate and coordinate services to support and assist Syilx members and their family affected by crisis, loss and suicide.
- Train and support team members in community
- Specialized trainings
Each member community has an ONRT protocol. In a crisis, or for trainings, community members can call Band Health or Social staff, their Band Manager, or Band Council.
ONRT provides crisis response intervention (including suicide) and prevention services to Syilx Okanagan Nation children, youth and adults. Crisis response services are available Monday to Friday between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.
Although ONRT is not an on-call 24 hours crisis intervention service, it does provide after hours services, when necessary, as determined by capacity to respond.
Community members have two primary ways to access ONRT services:
- Self-referral
- Initial contact with Band Management, Leadership, or other individuals listed on the Protocol List.
Individuals/families may go to their Band Chief & Council, Band Manager, Health Director, or Social Worker. Each Band varies so first contact with Health Director is beneficial. Once contact has been made with Band Chief & Council, Health Directors, Management and/or Social Worker, they can contact one of the ONRT Community Coordinators and assess the level of crisis and they will discuss if it falls under ONRT’s mandate.
Individuals experiencing a crisis or if there is a crisis within community, individuals may reach out directly to one of the ONRT Community Coordinators. They will discuss the level of crisis and if the situation falls under the mandate of ONRT Response.
ONRT is called in when a crisis occurs in an Okanagan community. It can be incidents involving violence, traumatic accidents/losses, complete suicides or suicide attempts. These call-ins can come from Individual, family, and/or Band Leadership and Management.
ONRT is actively recruiting for each community within the Syilx Okanagan Nation!
Each community has two or three representatives that are selected by either the health or social department or Chief and Council. Once this occurs the new members are oriented and training is provided by the ONRT Team Lead.
Our team is comprised of committed individuals from different communities who have a desire to help in times of crisis and are willing to learn and teach others about strategies for positive wellbeing. Team members are trained to effectively respond to crisis in community and are also able to deliver educational workshops.
If this is something you would be interested in – please reach out to one of the ONRT Coordinators.
Reduce the stigma when it comes to mental health and substance use.
Contact
Jen Louis, ONRT Coordinator
Phone: 250 681-3765
Email: jlouis@syilx.org