Draiciee Wilson, 24, remembers the isolated western Canadian village of Hazelton as an ideal place to grow up. Tucked in among the mountains along British Columbia's Skeena River, everyone there knew everyone else. Community dinners were regularly held at the local hall, and parents would cheer on as their children played ice hockey in the winters and soccer in the summers. Then, a little more than a decade ago, the village and its outlying areas began to rapidly deteriorate, Ms Wilson said.
The logging jobs disappeared, and with them the sense of collective spirit in community, she says. Poverty, boredom, and eventually despair set in. By the time Ms Wilson turned 15, she, like many residents of the area, turned to alcohol and drugs to fill her days. 'There's nothing for kids to do, there's no employment and there's more liquor stores than grocery stores.'
At the age of 17 and trapped by feelings of hopelessness, Ms Wilson tried to take her own life.
'One night, I just figured, 'What's the point? Why even be around?'' she says.
Her sister found her collapsed at home alone, and managed to rush her to the hospital in time to save her. Ms Wilson says she has lost several good friends to suicide, and many, many more have attempted it.
While suicide has been a problem in the Hazelton area for years, a sudden rash of attempts over the past year has left the community reeling, raising alarm over what to do about this 'epidemic'. The population of the community is small, about 6,000 mostly aboriginal, or First Nations, people spread out over a large area. Yet in 2007 alone, the hospital in Hazelton recorded a staggering 202 suicide attempts, according to the province's Northern Health Authority.