Nunavut Kamatsiaqtut Help Line

The Nunavut Kamatsiaqtut Help Line is a telephone counseling and contact service for people in northern Canada who are in crisis.^[1] The name Kamatsiaqtut is the Inuktitut language name used by Inuit people; it means “thoughtful people who care.” The idea for the Help Line originated in the winter of 1989 when there were a significant number of suicides in the Baffin region of Canada which was then called the Northwest Territories and is now called Nunavut.

With the assistance of private individuals and community organizations, the Help Line started operating on Jan. 15, 1990; during the first year of operation, it received more than 400 calls. Since then it has operated 365 days a year, manned by a cadre of trained volunteers. In 1994, it took on a new service: The Nunavut AIDS Information Line. The calling area also includes northern Quebec and other remote areas of Canada.

In 1994 and 2003, Kamatsiaqtut hosted the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention annual conference in Iqaluit, Nunavut's capital.

The Kamatsiaqtut Help Line can be reached at:

• [phone]
• [phone]

References

1. ^ http://www.kamatsiaqtut.com Nunavut Kamatsiaqtut Help Line

External links

• Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - Nunavut, Canada - Hope on Ice