A memorial to Traevon Desjarlais-Chalifoux, 17, stands in the front yard of the Abbotsford group home where he died.Handout
A social worker from the Indigenous-led agency responsible for Cree teen Traevon Desjarlais-Chalifoux told a coroner’s inquest into his suicide that workers at the group home where he was living didn’t have the skills to deal with him, but it was the only place the agency could find.
Lynsie Thompson, who was helping the 17-year-old boy for the three years before he killed himself in September, 2020, told the second day of hearings that there weren’t any options other than the Abbotsford, B.C., group home where her agency placed him in June, 2019. It was one of 10 such homes run by Rees Family Services Inc. in the Fraser Valley area east of Vancouver.
“We don’t necessarily get to select homes, we don’t have a lot to choose from: It’s where is there a bed available and that was what was available at the time is my understanding,” said Ms. Thompson, who added that in an ideal world there would be homes catering to Indigenous youth in foster care with access to elders and wraparound care.
The inquest was called this spring following a Globe and Mail investigation into the death of the teen, whose body was discovered in his bedroom closet four days after he was reported missing. The Globe investigation found serious deficiencies at Ms. Thompson’s organization Xyolhemeylh – also known as the Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society – one of 24 Indigenous Child and Family Service agencies charged with providing foster care to First Nations, Métis and Inuit children and youth in British Columbia.
The Globe analyzed recent practice audits from Xyolhemeylh (pronounced yoth-meeth) and found a pattern of omission and neglect on a range of metrics, including a failure by social workers to meet regularly with young people in their care or to plan adequately for their care. In some cases, they never met with them at all. During the course of The Globe’s investigation, Xyolhemeylh did not respond to requests for comment on its practices or on the care provided to Mr. Desjarlais-Chalifoux.
He was apprehended by provincial authorities a day after being born and cycled through the care of several relatives throughout his brief life, eventually reconnecting with his mother and living with her in Abbotsford. But, Ms. Thompson testified, these family members found it “quite challenging to manage his special needs” and he was placed in the group home after his mother kicked him out for smoking cannabis in the home they shared with her younger son.
The staff at the group home, however, did not have the requisite expertise either, she said.
“There was concerns that Traevon required a lot of skillful caregivers and there was concern those caregivers weren’t as skilled as he would have needed,” said Ms. Thompson, who is not Indigenous but had an elder sit behind her during her testimony for support.
She testified how she had learned during a visit to the home that the teen continually banged his head through the wall of his bedroom and how she had developed a plan with the staff there to intervene next time he did so and call 911 or a local mental-health crisis team. A lawyer for Mr. Desjarlais-Chalifoux’s mother then asked her if she was aware staff had begun paying him to stop hitting his head.
“I know he received an allowance, I don’t know if it was tied to head banging,” Ms. Thompson said.
She told the inquest that she also requested a female staff member be added to the group home, as the teen was more comfortable with women, but that never happened. Shortly after he moved into the home, his cousin also joined him there – a development that caused Mr. Desjarlais-Chalifoux a lot of anxiety because the wispy teen was bullied by this much bigger relative, Ms. Thompson said.
That cousin moved in, she said, and Mr. Desjarlais-Chalifoux soon ran away, or “went AWOL,” to crash with friends in Abbotsford or nearby Mission – something he did regularly. At one point, another female cousin he was scared of was set to move into the home as well, but that never occurred, Ms. Thompson said.
Ms. Thompson, who had the legal role akin to a parent for Mr. Desjarlais-Chalifoux during his last two years, said on most days she is juggling upwards of 20 cases involving young people in her care, but detailed how she relished taking the young man to his favourite fast-food restaurant or out shopping for clothes. She also recalled how she pulled her car over one day after seeing someone run out of a parkade erratically only to find out it was Mr. Desjarlais-Chalifoux, who had just been maced. She said she put her jacket around him and called 911, eventually joining him in the hospital because she had burning eyes and lungs.
“He was an amazing young man,” said Ms. Thompson, her voice breaking as she fought back tears.
Her colleague with Xyolhemeylh is scheduled to testify Wednesday, followed by staff with the care home operator.
The inquest’s five jurors are tasked with determining when and how Mr. Desjarlais-Chalifoux died and making recommendations for systemic changes that could prevent other foster children from dying in similar circumstances.
Editor’s note: (Nov. 30, 2022): An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled Lynsie Thompson's first name.
Mike Hager