New Yukon program will hire person with FASD as peer support worker

Peer support is essential to all walks of life, but when it comes to those living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), the need is greater, say advocates. 

To that end, the Whitehorse-based Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Society Yukon (FASSY) will soon launch a peer support program thanks to funding from the territory's Crime Prevention and Victim Services Trust.

The money will allow the organization to hire a peer support lead in addition to a peer support worker who has lived experience of FASD, said Maddi Scott, a FASSY outreach worker.

Scott said that peer support workers are important for clients when they are in need of help in the short-term, and outside of business hours.

"That kind of immediate care is huge, especially for people with FASD who struggle a lot with self-confidence, struggle a lot with their self-image, with building healthy relationships," Scott said.

FASSY was one of nine community organizations in the Yukon that received funding from the trust, which distributed more than  $400,000. The organization received $123,006.

Neena MacKinnon, FASSY's executive director, said that both of the organization's new positions will pay the same salary.

"Our idea with this project was to have two folks hired through the funding to be able to go out into a community and talk about the benefits of a service like FASSY," MacKinnon said.

"Get out there and share to people the fact that a lot of this disability exhibits itself as what could appear as just bad behavior … and a lot of people don't understand that with the damage that happens from prenatal alcohol exposure, our clients, they actually cannot make that choice [to behave differently]."

A nation-wide issue

The Canada Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Research Network estimated in 2023 that FASD affects roughly 4 percent of the Canadian population.

FASD is caused when a fetus is exposed to alcohol before it's born. Symptoms of the disorder can range mild to severe and can affect behavioural, learning, mental and physical abilities, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

A 2016 study, conducted by the Yukon Government, found that 17.5 per cent of people in the Yukon's justice system have FASD. Two of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action deal with addressing and preventing FASD, including reforms to the criminal justice system.

MacKinnon said that the over-representation of people with FASD in the criminal justice system means that the disability is often spoken about in the context of that system, even though it is a health and wellness issue at its core.

'Life-changing' support

This year marks the second time that FASSY has received funding from the trust. Last year, the organization used the funding to start an emergency after-hours phone line and hire a dedicated worker for their drop-in space, MacKinnon said.

Scott says that this year's program works in relation to crime prevention — which is one requirement for the funding — as it aims to reduce feelings of loneliness and a lack of support, both of which can lead to dangerous and self-destructive actions.

MacKinnon said that the person with FASD who's the top candidate for the peer support worker position regularly visited FASSY and sparked MacKinnon's idea for this year's program. 

"When we got the funding and I knew that I would then be able to start the process and most likely be hiring that person and I let them know that, they actually cried," MacKinnon said.

"To be able to come full circle, to now be employed by us, and be giving back to their community and helping the next generation of people living with FASD, or their friends living with FASD [to] see the successes that are possible."

Scott says that the funding for this year's project is "life-changing," both for peer support workers and clients. 

"It means that they are seeing people living with FASD who are also thriving and passionate about their work," Scott said. "And that is something we can't really put a price on."