Overcrowded housing of the most northern communities contributes to the maintenance and rise of social problems

The purpose of the project No Child Should Take the Long Way Home in its final objective is to empower mothers in Nunavik communities in Quebec, Canada to become safer, to be aware of their legal rights, and families to understand the risk factors leading to the removal of their children. Safety standards for women and for children must be designed in services offered to the population of isolated communities.

Overcrowded housing in northern communities contributes to the maintenance and rise of social problems and largely affects safety issues in Nunavik and Nunavut's women and children.

Children are issues of concern for all citizens of Canada

Why are there still more First Nations children in care right now than at the height of the residential school system?

Instead of being at home with their parents, brothers, and sisters, tens of thousands of First Nations children are in foster care, staying with distant relatives or living in institutions.

Risk factors require that they be recognized and dealt with

A few months ago, I heard a First Nations woman say how happy she was that she had had a child, a beautiful healthy girl. But her next sentence literally froze me to the bone. She said: “I started fearing for my girl because she was a girl”.

Increased awareness regarding the safety and support of women and children

Although there is increased awareness regarding the safety and support of women and children affected by domestic violence, resource constraints create a challenging context for the delivery of effective services and real justice to women and children. In a previous work experience, the department assuring support to the community had one full-time person and one occasional additional person for just so many months a year. The community workers were there to translate and negotiate which made for an inordinate amount of work distributed amongst the agents. It was impossible to ever get it all done.

Domestic Violence has Devastating Effects on the Children and Their Future

"We lose dignity if we tolerate the intolerable" (Unknown author)

My presence at Amnisty International in May 2015 and then my participation at the World’s March for Women October 4th 2015 to honour the missing and assassinated indigenous women has convinced me that it is impossible to dissociate mothers from the children in the project No Child Should Have to Take the Long Way Home.

Taking care of communities for the well-being of the children

In Quebec, on average, 70% of Indigenous and Inuit households derive their income from social assistance. Canada is 78th in industrialized countries if we let statistics speak on the poverty of Indigenous and Inuit people. One in four children lives in poverty among Aboriginal and Inuit.

The children disappear behind the numbers and their poverty is concealed behind statistics that reflect a general improvement of the situation, but completely obliterate the disparities in our society.

No Child Should Take the Long Way Home is a grassroots initiative to help children in need of loving care, of a protective and stable environment to meet their basic needs for protection, shelter, and education.