N.B. partners with Icelandic organization to help youth struggling with substance abuse

Two teenagers are seen in this stock image. (Source: Dương Nhân, Pexels)

The New Brunswick government is launching a pilot project to help communities reduce substance use among youth.

The five-year project is in collaboration with an Icelandic research consultancy called Planet Youth. The organization’s guidance program uses the Icelandic Prevention Model -- an evidence and community-based process that has been credited with lowering substance use in Iceland over the past 20 years.

The program also puts a focus on youth’s family, peer groups, extracurricular activities and school well-being.

“We believe that the strength of a community is based on the well-being of the people who live there,” said Pall Ríkhardsson, the chief executive officer of Planet Youth, in a news release. “That is core to the aims of Planet Youth, to improve the future of youth through an adaptable process that is data-driven, evidence-informed and focused on prevention and upstream solutions.”

The New Brunswick government will spend $255,000 each year on the five-year project, which begins this fall. The province says the first step will be to develop community action teams at each of the four pilot sites.

Saint John, Woodstock, Kent County and the Acadian Peninsula will each have a site for the project.

The province says community and health promotion partners will work together to find solutions unique to each community’s specific needs.

“We know 51 per cent of New Brunswickers have indicated they are at risk of developing negative mental health impacts due to the social isolation, stress and economic impacts of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic,” said New Brunswick Health Minister Bruce Fitch. “That is why we are taking action to prevent addictions and mental health issues.”

The province says the pilot project supports the new provincial health plan, Stabilizing Health Care: An Urgent Call to Action, which includes access to addiction and mental health services.