Social media safety course in La Ronge aimed at helping prevent youth suicides

As the anniversary of six youths' suicides approaches in northern Saskatchewan, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band is working on strategies to prevent it from happening again.

One of them is an effort to educate mental health workers, teachers, parents, and youth on the dangerous sideof social media.

A Connecticut company, Welcome 2 Reality, has begun to hold monthly sessions in La Ronge on how social media influences today's youth as well as providing tipsto help children critically analyze the media they consume.

Co-founder of the company, Marcus Stallworth, was invited to the community by Kyla McKenzie, assistant director of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band Child and Family Services.

Stallworth said the community had had a number of suicides "that many claimed to be associated to social media."

In October2016, four girls between the ages of 12 and 14 took their own lives in the northern Saskatchewan towns of La Ronge and Stanley Mission.

A 10-year-old girl in Deschambault Lake and a 13-year-old girl in the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation in Saskatchewan also killed themselves last October.

• 'They're not just statistics. Our little girls are dying': FSIN vice-chief

In the workshops, Welcome 2 Reality discusses cyberbullying, suicide and online predators, but also the lifelong implications of what youth post online and tricks used by marketers and advertisers.

Stallworth said everything from music to movies can influence how kids see themselves and the world. His workshops bring students "back to reality."

"Parents often don't have a clue who their kids are talking to. They don't know what they are listening to and it's really amazing," said Stallworth.

"You can't communicate with your children unless you speak the same language, so be a little more actively involved in what your kids are interested in, who they associate with, andbe mindful of what they are keeping in their devices. Don't be apologetic to inquire, to make sure if your kids are on a good path and making good choices."

He said his company has also developed a curriculum for schools called Mentoring through Media. The 10- to 12-week course educates youth social media safety, and what Stallworth calls "media literacy."

"It teaches young folks that while they're absorbing all this content through media, television, radio, and social media, how to sift through it and critically analyzeit," said Stallworth.

"Is this legitimate information? Who is sending the message? What is the intent of the message sender? So they can make more informed and educated decisions and not just take things as they are."

Stallworth also hopes to launch a digital citizenship campaign in La Ronge in November, where students will become ambassadors in their schools to support peers struggling online.