Weekly News Roundup – Sept 5 – 10, 2017

Every day we scan news headlines and social media for items of interest to the field of suicide prevention. Here’s what we found last week:

Featured:
World Suicide Prevention Week 2017 – Centre for Suicide Prevention
September 5, 2017
Our theme this year is Connection, which is vital to suicide prevention. Strengthening connection within ourselves, connection to others, and connection throughout our communities promotes resilience and hope.

Musical marathon aims to bring awareness to suicide – CBC
September 10, 2017
Mysterious Barricades is a 21-hour concert event, taking place all across Canada and streamed live annually for World Suicide Prevention Day. The concerts are held to raise awareness of suicide and mental health issues. Centre for Suicide Prevention was honoured to be asked to participate in the Calgary concert, where Executive Director Mara Grunau spoke about suicide and suicide prevention between performances.

Letter: World Suicide Prevention Day – Morinville News
September 10, 2017
Centre for Suicide Prevention’s annual World Suicide Prevention Day press release emphasizes connection as a way to prevent suicide. “Connection… is the essence of our work. Strengthening connection within ourselves, connection to others, and connection throughout our communities promotes resilience and hope.

Aiming for Perfection: The Zero Suicide Movement – Centre for Suicide Prevention
September 11, 2017
Our latest resource is an infoExchange editorial that explains the Zero Suicide initiative, the ultimate goal of which is to eliminate suicide completely.

The connections that strengthen our community: 2016 Annual Report – Centre for Suicide Prevention
September 11, 2017
We’re pleased to announce the release of our 2016 Annual Report. Our theme this year is Connection. Together we support people at risk of suicide.

‘In the picture of my life, I don’t exist’: City councillor shares struggles with depression – CBC
September 10, 2017
Calgary’s Deputy Mayor Brian Pincott shared his own personal experiences with suicidality this past World Suicide Prevention Day. “I have suffered from depression since I was 16 or 17. I have never talked about it. It hasn’t served me to not talk about it, as the bouts of depression get deeper and longer,” said Pincott.

Northerners urged to embrace life as World Suicide Prevention Day marked around the globe – CBC
September 10, 2017
The Embrace Life Council hosted the 10th annual Embrace Life Day on World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10. Embrace Life Day encourages people to celebrate life, to come together to overcome hardships and “remember that we weren’t alone,” says Rachel Michael, Embrace Life Council program coordinator.

AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde marks World Suicide Prevention Day by focusing on ‘culture for life’ to promote health and wellness – Assembly of First Nations
September 8, 2017
The AFN has launched their ‘Culture for Life’ social media campaign, which highlights the importance of connection to one’s culture as a protective factor against suicide. The AFN is encouraging First Nations youth to share how they connect to their culture. “As First Nations people, we have endured a great deal but through this long history our cultures, spirituality and the knowledge of our Elders have sustained us with strength, guidance and healing,” said Chief Perry Bellegarde.

Suicide prevention field prepares for release of ‘the Show’ in midst of National Suicide Prevention Week – American Association of Suicidology
September 8, 2017
Giancarlo Esposito’s new film, The Show, is about a reality TV series that depicts people killing themselves on-camera. The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) recognizes that while artistic freedom and creativity is important, they are working to create a better understanding of how to portray suicide in the media. Colleen Creighton, Executive Director of AAS said, “Building relationships with entertainment industry professionals will have a lasting legacy of eliminating prejudice and discrimination of those with mental health issues, while maintaining the integrity of artistic and creative freedom.”

Opinion: More can be done to reduce suicide rates in Quebec – Montreal Gazette
September 7, 2017
Suicide rates have declined in Quebec since the implementation of their suicide prevention strategy, but still 1,000 people die by suicide every year in that province, and 80% of those are male suicides. The high rates of male suicide are attributed to the decline of traditional male industries, meaning that men are unemployed or under-employed, “without a strong sense of pride, purpose and meaning in life.” Quebec also has a high rate of divorce and separation, which has been found to be a risk factor for suicide. This opinion piece is written by Rob Whitley, who produced a Movember-funded documentary on the factors of male suicide, which is also featured. Whitely suggests updating the provincial strategy, which was written in 1998, to include initiatives based on the latest research. Whitley also believes that men and Indigenous populations specifically need to be addressed, as they have the highest rates. Finally, he believes suicide should be recognized as a social issue as well as a health issue.

Breaking the cycle: How northern Saskatchewan is rallying to end suicide – CBC
September 7, 2017
More than 100 people from northern Saskatchewan met to discuss how suicide prevention can move forward in their communities. 6 young girls, between the ages of 10 and 14, took their lives in northern Saskatchewan communities in October and November 2016, and now community members are determined to prevent future deaths. “We know enough as northern people and community members that we need to empower ourselves and believe in our strengths and our abilities to take care of ourselves and I think that’s where that push is coming from,” said Île-à-la-Crosse Mayor Duane Favel.

After suicide attempt, Orillia woman learns how to live – Simcoe News
September 7, 2017
Angie Green-Hill, suicide attempt survivor and resident of Orillia, Ontario, is profiled in this piece. Green-Hill describes how she was saved by a friend in the midst of her attempt, and how she’s recovered from her suicidality and learned to cope with bipolar disorder. Green-Hill also acknowledges the immense stigma that suicide still carries with it: “I want the stigma to die, not the people with mental (illnesses) to die.”

Canada is getting a national suicide hotline in 2017 – Toronto Star
September 6, 2017
The Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the US has been funded by the American government for years, and now Canada will be getting it’s own federally-funded national hotline. The service is expected to be available by late 2017. “The suicide hotline (should) do two things. It helps people in the moment struggling with suicidal thoughts and feelings of hopelessness. Ideally, it also helps them connect to appropriate ongoing resources,” said Dr. David Goldbloom, Senior Medical Advisor at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

What a Foo believes: The sweet life and rock and roll faith of America’s biggest band – Rolling Stone
September 6, 2017
*Explicit language*
This article features the Foo Fighters, the lead singer of which (Dave Grohl) was a drummer for Nirvana. Near the end of the article, Grohl speaks about his personal experiences with the devastation of suicide, both with band mate Kurt Cobain and friend Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. “I loved him,” Grohl said of Cornell, voice breaking. “He was a really sweet guy. Full of life. And he had so much to offer. That one hurt,” said Grohl. “Over the years you sort of count your blessings that you survived, and when you see another one go down … I felt for his family… I felt for his band… because that’s a long road man.”

Integrated care can help prevent suicide among substance users – The Conversation
September 5, 2017
Substance use and suicide are very closely linked, as many people who use substances do so to help cope with existing mental health issues such as depression. This article comes out of South Africa, where more than 1 in 10 people have a lifetime diagnosis of a substance use disorder and 40% of people who die by suicide are intoxicated at the time of their death. South Africa is a “low resource setting”, where there are not many suicide prevention initiatives. The authors of this article suggest that the integration of psychiatric services and substance use services are vital for suicide prevention in the vulnerable group of substance users: “Our findings suggest that one of the biggest barriers to suicide prevention is the fact that psychiatric services and substance use services are often not integrated. As a result, people who have substance use disorders do not receive the psychiatric, psychological, and social care that they need to prevent them from engaging in suicidal behaviour.”

Grenfell Tower: ‘Twenty suicide attempts’ since blaze as victims suffer from ‘survivor guilt’ – Telegraph
September 5, 2017
20 people who survived or witnessed the Grenfell Tower fire, a massive apartment fire in West London that killed 80 people, have attempted suicide since June. This according to Yvette Greenway, founder of the Silence of Suicide support group. Greenway says the numbers are anecdotal, and that she has spoken to several people struggling because of the disaster: “There is a lot of alcohol and drug dependency… people are feeling isolated.”