Macleans just published a spectacular article on Bella Bella entitled, “Bella Bella, B.C.: The town that solved suicide”.
“…change is afoot. Bella Bella’s tiny airport, slated to be overhauled in the months ahead, isn’t the only thing in town undergoing a rebuild. Plans are in the works for a new guest lodge, restaurant and hostel in Bella Bella and a shop that will sell T-shirts, water bottles, scarves, hats and bags adorned in local art. In the coming months, the new airport, a new band store and a new big house will be erected by the band’s construction firm using local wood milled at a millyard the Heiltsuk are in the process of taking over. And there’s talk of extending a cedar boardwalk built for the royal visit to a three-kilometre waterfront loop, linking the harbour with the former town site at McLoughlin Bay.”
“It’s a remarkable turnaround for a place that once had almost no economy, deep social problems and one of the highest youth suicide rates in the country—a staggering one suicide a month. Many who lived through it refer to the period as the ‘dark time.'”
The Maclean’s article goes into the crisis a little bit, but focuses on how the Heiltsuk people have pulled themselves out of those dark times and how they have flourished. Read more on their website: http://www.macleans.ca/news/bella-bella-the-town-that-solved-suicide/ and then let us know what you think of it in the comments below!
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