Northern youth suicide rate raises alarms
Planning is underway for a five-day workshop to help change some astounding statistics about suicide in northeastern Ontario.
The Suicide Safer Network and community partners are hosting a five-day workshop next week called Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).
It's training for trainers across the region to share intervention skills to help people with thoughts of suicide in communities across our region.
“What the stats show is that northern Ontario suicide rates are triple the provincial average,” said Mark Fraser, of the Suicide Safer Network.
“Every death by suicide affects 7-10 people, so we understand now how one death by suicide has a ripple effect across communities.”
Micheline Lavallee, also of the Suicide Safer Network, said it’s a discussion that we need to have to prevent further tragedy.
“We need people to start talking honestly and openly about suicide in order to be able to save lives,” Lavallee said.
“At the moment, we probably have five per cent of our population that is in pain they are suffering and they feel that they can't talk to anybody about their thoughts of suicide.”
In all, 24 people will take part in the five-day workshop to become trainers. The training has not been offered in northeastern Ontario since 2013.
“The last three days they learn how to actually pathways to assisting life, which is a model that is worldwide renowned as a suicide intervention,” Lavallee said.
“Equip people with the skills necessary in order to have conversations about suicide and to also intervene when people are affected by suicide or have suicidal ideations,” Fraser added.
Officials said most participants are from cities and rural and Indigenous communities across the northeast. The goal is to have them go back to their respective areas and help people become more confident in intervening when someone has thoughts of suicide.
More information about training opportunities in the northeast can be found here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.