'I trusted them with my son': Mother of Indigenous teen who died in B.C. group home speaks out for first time

Samantha Chalifouxcarriesa bouquet of freshflowers and lays them on a memorialin front of the group home where her sonTraevon Chalifoux-Desjarlaisdied.

"I'm not dealing with it well at all," she says.

Her 17-year-old Cree sondied in a government-run Abbotsford, B.C., group home on Sept.14, but his body was not found until four days later.

She said she visits the memorial often, to feel closer to him.

Chalifouxsays her son was a caring and outgoing high school student who really wanted to get a job.

"He used to always tell me, 'I'm going to find a reallygood job that pays a lot of money and I'm going to give you a lot of money,' andI used to tell him that you don't have to give me any money because you're my son,"Chalifouxsaid through tears.

She says she'dtext him every day andwhen she didn't hear from him for a couple of days she started to panic, calling his dad, friends andcousins.

The home, which is run by a B.C. governmentAboriginal agency called Xyolhemeylh, or the Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society,filed a missing person's report onSept.14.

Chalifouxsaid she called the Abbotsfordpolice several times, askingif they could "ping" her son's phone or send a signal and use the responding datato determinethephone's location.

The Abbotsford police corroborated this, saying"aphone number that was provided to the Abbotsford policewas pinged; however, the ping was unsuccessful as it was a 'third party calling service.'"

Fourdays after the missing person's report was filed, policesearched the bedroom of the group homeandChalifoux-Desjarlais's body was found in hiscloset.

'I trusted them'

Because of the sensitive nature of theinvestigation, police say they areunable to provide specific details surrounding the teen'scause of death.

The AbbotsfordPolice Department's Major Crime Unitconcluded no criminality wassuspected.

Chalifouxsaid there were red flags while her son was in the group home. She says he often texted saying he was hungry and was not being allowed food from the group home staff, and he also complained he was not allowed fresh bedding.

"They're supposed to be there to help support him, to help him feel comfortable, to help [him] feel welcomed but theyfailed him," she said standing beside the group home.

"I trusted them with my son, andnow I don't even have my son with me," she said.

This is not the first time an Indigenous teen has died while in the care ofXyolhemeylh, the Aboriginal agency delegatedby the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Doug Kelly, who was one of Xyolhemeylh's founders and is the president of Sto:lo Tribal Council, confirmed that Alex Gervais a teen who committed suicide in 2015 was also in the care ofXyolhemeylhwhen he died.

Two-year-old Chassidy Whitford also died while involved with the same agency.She was found dead in 2002 on the Leq':mel First Nation, near Mission.

A ministry review found thatXyolhemeylh"did not meet all the requirements of child protection standards in its response to a July 8, 2002 child protection report regarding the child," according to an MCFD release at the time.

In 2017, workers atXyolhemeylhpushed their employer to reduce their caseloads and provide resources toallow them to provide services in a culturally appropriate way, according to theirunion, the B.C.Government andService Employees' Union.

A statementreleased atthe time stated that child welfare in the province was chronicallyunderfunded and said"of the approximately 4,000 Aboriginal children in care in B.C., Xyolhemeylh providesservices to over 400."

The Ministry of Children and Family Developmentsaid it was not able to comment on the treatment ofChalifoux-Desjarlais during his stay at the home, about his death or anything else related to the home because of the provincial election.

B.C.'s representative for children and youth Jennifer Charlesworth said while she is also not able to investigate because of the election, she is reviewing the case and preparing for an investigation.

Chalifoux-Desjarlais was in the home as part of a voluntary custody agreement with the ministry. His mom told the CBC that the arrangement was to be temporary and that she was helping him look for his own place.

"If I would have known this was going to happen, I would have kept him with me," Chalifouxsaid.

"They're supposed to be there to help him, to help support him, to help bring him up. And they all failed. And they didn't only failhim, they failed me," she said.

Her lawyer Sarah Rauch, who has successfully represented other Indigenous parents with concerns about MCFD,called thisa difficult story but one that is all too familiar.

"Unfortunately, it's not that surprising to me.I think the legacy of children in care and Indigenous children in care is well known and spoken about, but there's still not enough done," she said.

Rauch said she will follow the direction of her client, pushing for a public inquiry and possibly taking other legal actions.

"Iwould like justice for my son,"Chalifoux said.

"I will never get my son back andI will do everything I can to be his voice and to stand up."

"I definitely don't ever want to see another child go through this,I'm not letting this go, " she said.

The BC Coroners Service investigation continues.