Jeff Copenace, Chief of the Ojibways of Onigaming, says crisis teams are 'essential' in Onigaming, which has been under a state of emergency since 2014, largely because of a youth suicide crisis.

For the past three years, Jeff Copenace, Chief of the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation has relied on a legal rule called Jordan’s Principle to fund crisis response and safety patrol teams to serve youth in his community.

Onigaming, which has an on-reserve population of 482 people, has been under a state of emergency since 2014, largely because of a youth suicide crisis. The First Nation received between $2- to $3-million in funding annually through Jordan’s Principle, including $1-million to support the teams, according to Mr. Copenace. The teams respond to many different types of emergencie

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