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Sheshatshiu, Labrador
Breaking the cycle of substance abuse


Dominic Penunsi’s earliest memories are filled with images of his parents’ alcoholic binges. He remembers being left alone, the loneliness, and the fears that his parents didn’t love him.

When he was nine, his mother died tragically. His father followed a year later. Dominic was placed in the care of an older sister, who also drank heavily. By the time he was 15, he was drinking and sniffing gas and other addictive substances. He even considered suicide at times. While he managed to kick the sniffing in his teens, the drinking followed him. He was in and out of jail for break and enters and various violent acts.

Bernadette and Dominic Penunsi, with Maggie, 13, Joey, 19 months, and Shinipest, 2.

Dominic’s story is not a new one in Sheshatshiu. Almost all who call this Innu community home have faced their own dark nights. They have seen the breakdown of their society and felt the ensuing pain. And that legacy continues to pass from generation to generation.

When he was 17, Dominic met Bernadette, while at a fishing camp in the country.

Back in Sheshatshiu they had their first child. Bernadette was 14. Soon she started drinking too. “She didn’t really want to drink. I told her she would feel better, feel good,” said Dominic.

More children were born to them, and they continued to drink heavily, often fighting violently with each other. “We used to neglect our children in the house. Alcohol was very important to us. When we drank, we didn’t care for our children,” continued Dominic.

Their children were seized for months at a time by child welfare officials. They tried to sober up, but failed. Their children too started finding ways to cope. “Our kids started doing things that they shouldn’t have done – like sniffing,” he said.

Last spring, the Penunsis were told in family court that there would be no more chances to keep their children, unless they sobered up for good. “That was the part that scared me a lot,” Dominic said.

In summer, the Penunsis participated in a 28-day family treatment program, coordinated by Mennonite Central Committee volunteer Pam Stevenson. It focused on the effects of alcohol abuse on family life and introduced healthy parenting models, through group sessions and one-on-one counselling.

The program was held in the countryside, where participants lived in traditional tents. Together they hunted, fished, chopped wood and collected water. Stevenson said incorporating country living into a program of healing helped build pride in their Innu heritage.

“I think the culture needs to be brought back so they can know where they come from,” said Apenam Pone, director of the family treatment centre in Sheshatshiu, who helped coordinate last summer’s program.

Meanwhile, the children of the five participating families attended treatment sessions in Sheshatshiu. The eldest child in each family joined the parents for part of the country program.

“Me and my wife we talked. We talked about what problems we could solve – like our marriage, family, kids and relatives too,” said Dominic, 33.

He says they’ve been sober since summer. Five of their nine children live with them again (the others stay with relatives), and their marriage has improved.

“It’s getting stronger and stronger,” he said. “There used to be a lot of violence between me and her. And I’m still recovering. I’m still alcoholic. I’m doing my best to stay sober.”

The Penunsis, like others, continue to receive counselling and support. Of five participating families, four have had their children returned. One family has had no success in remaining sober, one family has relapsed but continues to participate in the after-care program. Two couples and a widow are sober and doing extremely well, according to Stevenson. “Our long-term goal is to have families back together with the ability to function healthily,” said Stevenson.

Pone said more and more people are asking for a similar treatment program. “It was successful. And I’m sure as we go along we’ll be more successful.”

 – Carol Thiessen, for MCC Canada

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Last modified July 5, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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