The Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre (PKFC) is launching a new healthy-lifestyles initiatives program this month in Rankin Inlet.
PKFC executive director Pela Sharp said discussions started taking place this past November with the addictions department to begin doing more in the community.
Initially, the PKFC was going to do the healthy January initiative but, with Christmas holidays ending and staff coming back to work, they figured that healthy February would be a better fit, Sharp said.
The timing gave the friendship centre plenty of time to start coordinating and planning for a full month of February events for the entire community to enjoy.
“So, it started off at a staff meeting in January about doing a healthy February event, and that’s where all the brainstorming starting happening for all the different types of events that we should be holding,” said Sharp.
“It was a team-building exercise the entire tire. We have about 40 staff members and the conversations that were taking place were phenomenal.
“Just watching the staff having all these discussions and planning events was absolutely amazing.
“So, my role was to let them continue the conversations, move forward and get this off the ground.”
Sharp said the hamlet was generous in donating the community hall and the drop-in centre free of charge to host the PKFC’s February lineup.
Among the confirmed events are a craft night and a board games at the drop-in centre from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday evenings for any age group.
“Our Wednesday events are a little bit different and we’ll kick off the first one with a kids’ pizza party, which will be hosted from 4 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.,” said Sharp.
“We’re encouraging all the kids at the school to come to the drop-in centre and have pizza with us. We have about 60 pizzas, I believe, ready to go for our first pizza night because we don’t know how many kids are going to show up.
“It’s an event for kids to come and talk. It’s to show them that there are organizations out there that support kids and teenagers who might be affected by alcohol within their families, or by peer pressure, anything like that.”
Sharp said Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be geared towards the younger generation, while Thursdays and Fridays will focus more on adult activities.
“We’ll also be holding scavenger hunts and collaborating with Nunavut Arctic College to hold a college student night where we invite them to our building to serve them traditional food.”
Sharp said the college student night will be important because college students come from all over the territory, not just Rankin Inlet. Staff members will be explaining to them what they do at the PKFC because it has so many programs to offer, such as the spousal abuse program, the addictions department, the mental health department, various counselling services, men’s programming, prenatal programming and others.
“So, we just want to introduce all the different programming that we have to the college students,” Sharp said.
“We have a good feeling towards this programming. The initial response that we’ve already received on our Facebook page has been phenomenal. We’ve received a lot of likes and a lot of shares…
“We want to see all the community members of Rankin Inlet enjoy themselves and to respect the wishes of those who want to live a healthier lifestyle without drugs or alcohol.”
—By Darrell Greer