Attawapiskat youth on their community in trouble

Jack Linklater Jr. is doing his best to make life in Attawapiskat better. It's never easy. But he's not giving up. 

"I will not move. It breaks my heart," he tells Day 6, "but I will stay here for as long as I can."

Linklater is 16 years old and was born and raised in the remote First Nation. Last weekend, Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency after 11 suicide attempts so far in April and 28 recorded attempts in March. 

13-year-old Amy Hookimaw tells CBC News that she hears from kids as young as nine who are talking about ending their lives.

"They're messaging me and telling me they want to kill themselves too."

Chelsea Jane Edwards, 20, who left Attawapiskat to go to university in Fredericton, N.B., tells Day 6 she remembers older youth and young adults coming to her for help with their problems. "You could sense that there wasn't really life in them. They were just living on a daily basis."

Both Linklater and Hookimaw say a big part of the problem is a lack of things to do. 

"They should start having more activities here," says Hookimaw. 

"There's no help. There's nothing to do here," adds Linklater.

Despite everything, Edwards says she still feels a loss for having left Attawapiskat to go to school. 

"When I did go off the reserve, I lost my culture. And if I could re-do it all over again, I wish that I was still able to practice my language and my culture while still going to school."