Media Guidelines For Reporting On Suicide
If you are a journalist planning to write a story about suicide, please read through these media guidelines first.In The News
CBC News Alberta December 08, 2019
The latest Alberta news and weather on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. and Sunday at 11 p.m.
Death at Alberta legislature reignites conversation about provincial suicide rate | The Star
Alberta’s suicide rate is already higher than other provinces and according to experts, it’s grown alongside the provincial unemployment rate. Premier Jason Kenney addressed the issue as recently as Saturday during the United Conservative Party’s Annual General Meeting in Calgary.
Alberta documentary sheds light on men in the oilpatch and suicides
Alberta is home to a lot of male-dominated industries. Farming, oil and gas and construction tend to employ mostly men. But it’s those industries that are prone to stress and pressures. A new documentary is exposing the issues, profiling Alberta men and their mental health.
Don’t be afraid to say the word 'suicide': A caring conversation can save lives
Every day, 11 of your fellow Edmontonians attempt suicide. Some die.But they don’t have to.Research shows that, while the causes of suicide are complex, when friends and loved ones intervene it can sometimes mean the difference between life and death for someone in crisis.
Research links living at high altitudes with Rocky Mountain ‘Suicide Belt’
People come from all over the world to take in the Canadian Rockies and some are even lucky enough to call the area home, but emerging research suggests a link between living in higher elevations and higher rates of suicide.
Suicide Prevention Day means opportunity for discussion about a difficult issue, expert says
Suicide is never an easy topic to discuss, but having a national day to recognize its impacts can be a boon for those focusing on suicide prevention, says a Canadian expert.
High suicide rates for Indigenous youths sparks action from Alberta government
With Indigenous and Metis youths five to six times more likely to die by suicide than non-Indigenous youths, Alberta is faced with a public and mental-health crisis, according to an expert. Within the Indigenous community, the bulk of suicide deaths involve youths, whereas middle-aged men make up the majority of suicide deaths within the general population, according to Mara Grunau, executive director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention.
From youth in segregation to first-time home buyers: Six data gaps Globe readers have encountered
From youth in segregation to jobless rates among people with disabilities, The Globe and Mail’s data-gaps project generated hundreds of responses from readers across the country on gaps they identified and want to see fixed. The paper’s continuing data-gap series includes an online tool that lets readers report data gaps they have encountered in their work or research.
Why more men than women die by suicide
Six years ago my brother took his own life. He was 28 years old. Tragically, suicide is not as rare as one might think. In 2016, the last year global data is available from the World Health Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 793,000 suicide deaths worldwide.Most were men.
Calgary Herald Christmas Fund 2018 campaign raises close to $750,000
Twelve local charities are receiving more than $60,000 each as a result of the 2018 Calgary Herald Christmas Fund campaign, the agencies learned at an announcement Friday. The total raised through the campaign launched in November was $746,465, translating to $62,205.41 for each of the organizations.
Facebook’s suicide prevention tool sparks concern
A Harvard Medical School researcher is criticizing Facebook’s new suicide prevention program, saying it amounts to using users for medical research without their consent. In a commentary published in the Feb. 11, 2019 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine , John Torous raises concerns about Facebook’s suicide prevention efforts.
A decade after suicide attempts, Mi’kmaq woman has found clarity | Cape Breton Post
MEMBERTOU, N.S. – Margaret Paul has survived back-to-back attempts on her own life. While recovering in hospital from a suicide bid, she told nurses she felt like a failure. But over a decade later, the Mi’kmaq woman has found clarity. “It’s an illness that takes you,” said the 56-year-old who works as an educator in Membertou.
Job-related deaths in Canada dramatically under-reported: study | CBC News
Close to 1,000 Canadians die each year because of their jobs, according to official numbers from Canada’s workers’ compensation agencies. But a new study says that figure is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the true extent of work-related deaths across the country.
Centre for Suicide Prevention: Giving frontline workers the skills to help others in distress
In her role as volunteer/events co-ordinator for Rowan House, an emergency shelter in High River, Betty George never thought she’d be in a position to confidently help someone having thoughts of suicide. “For me, I always thought there would be nothing I could do,” she said.
Van Herk: Listen carefully for those quiet pleas for help
One of the startling statistics that we ignore is that a person is more than 10 times as likely to die by their own hand as by another’s. Every year, Canada loses more than 100,000 years of potential life to suicide. From the Latin, suicidium, suicide is “the act of taking one’s own life.”
Christmas Fund: Centre for Suicide Prevention aims to help men help a buddy
Looking back seven years, Stephen Hansen remembers knowing that something needed to be done about an increasing trend of suicides on Calgary’s transit system. There had been a number of deaths in 2011 along the CTrain line, several of which were suicides.
Calgarians can provide a hand up to those in need through the Herald Christmas Fund
Christmas can be a wonderful time. We celebrate family, friends, health and well-being and give thanks for life’s blessings. The holidays are truly magical – whenever and however you celebrate, and no matter your beliefs or background. Unfortunately – and more so over the past several years – it can also be a cruel, difficult time.
’13 Reasons Why’ impacts teens – CityNews Edmonton
A new study reveals the Netflix show, 13 reasons why, could trigger at risk teens. Rachelle Elsiufi reports.
4 ways the Centre for Suicide Prevention is using Run for Life to promote mental health and prevent suicide
By Blaise Kemna | @blaise_k | [email protected] It’s 6:30 in the morning, pitch black and the thermostat is flirting with the negatives, but many people still brave the cold to remember loved ones lost to suicide at the first annual Run for Life on Oct. 14, 2018.
Discuter et écouter pour briser l’isolement et prévenir le suicide
Des experts profitent de la Journée mondiale de la prévention du suicide pour rappeler l’importance de parler de la maladie mentale et de briser les tabous. L’isolement est le plus grand danger pour une personne qui a des idées noires, préviennent-ils.
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day | Watch News Videos Online
Mon, Sep 10: Mara Grunau with the Centre for Suicide Prevention joins Global News Morning Calgary to talk about the importance of addressing mental health and where to look for help with family and friends.
World Suicide Prevention Day prompts conversation about death, mental health and stigmas | Watch News Videos Online
Monday is World Suicide Prevention Day and according to the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, 11 people end their lives in Canada every day and more than 200 make an attempt to. Mara Grunau and Shaye Ganam talk about the stigma surrounding suicide.
And Boom Goes The…Laptop?!
on today’s show, it is World Suicide Prevention Day, Joy Smith on the recent local sex trafficking story, and a wild story of a man’s laptop bursting into flames!
Letter: World Suicide Prevention Day
September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. This is the one day a year focused solely on awareness around the issue of suicide and its prevention and we’re spreading the message that suicide can affect anyone and anyone can prevent suicide. […]
Hot weather linked to increased suicide rates in the U.S., Mexico
A hot planet in 2050 could spark tens of thousands of more suicides, a new study suggests. The findings, which were recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found rising temperatures were linked to suicide spikes in countries like the U.S. and Mexico.
Suicide notes: Canadian researchers look at final words for clues on preventing deaths
Studying the final words of those who died by suicide can help teach mental health-care workers important lessons, a new study published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry says. READ MORE: Suicide rates among Canadian women are rising faster than men.
Celebrity Suicides Influence Others – CityNews Edmonton
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Seeing the signs: Understanding and preventing suicide | Watch News Videos Online
Sun, Jun 10: : Mara Grunau, executive director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention, joins Global News Morning to talk about how high-profile suicides can impact people struggling with mental health issues, and what we can do to prevent suicide.
Grunau: What we can learn from Kate Spade's suicide
By Mara GrunauI love my Kate Spade purse. The cheery purple splash of colour draws attention from random people wherever I go – when I’m picking my kids up at school, shopping at the grocery store, or walking downtown at lunch.
The Homestretch | Can a federal bill on suicide prevention save lives in Canada?
The Homestretch with Doug Dirks and Jenny Howe: Today, NDP Member of Parliament Charlie Angus proposed a new bill on suicide prevention. The legislation calls on the government to develop a national action plan, including Canada-wide guidelines on prevention and training for front-line workers.
Jeremy Quaile’s death by suicide raises questions for the law, journalism and how we interact on social media | CBC News
If you look at the risk factors for suicide, Jeremy Quaile ticked many of the boxes. He was a middle-aged man. His alcohol use had increased. He was withdrawing, increasingly, from family and friends. These things have been linked with an elevated risk of suicide in decades’ worth of research.
Province developing youth suicide prevention plan
Alberta says a new strategy is needed to stem suicide among young people, especially at-risk Indigenous youth. The Children’s Services Ministry’s business plan released with the provincial budget last month commits the government to developing a youth suicide prevention plan.
Alberta at Noon | [email protected] – Thursday, February 1, 2018
Alberta at Noon: If you went public with your mental health challenges yesterday, what was that like? What are the next steps after you talk about your mental illness?
Mentally ill Canadians have legal access to guns | Go Public
Families of two mentally ill Canadians who legally bought guns that led to their deaths tell Go Public that Canada’s often-lauded, gun control rules lack proper diligence.
Edmonton AM | Indigenous youth over-represented in suicide rates
Edmonton AM with Mark Connolly: Indigenous young people, who are in or once were in government care, are grossly over-represented in suicides since 2012. We’re talking to a suicide prevention advocate who says access to help is key.
‘Don’t give up’: Edmonton man brings suicide prevention message to High Level Bridge
At least once a week, Ralphie Mendita walks the span of Edmonton’s High Level Bridge on a personal mission to bring hope to the hopeless this holiday season. He walks the length of the bridge with a sign that reads, “Don’t Give Up.”
Mental health self-care during the holidays
The story of a man who makes a weekly pilgrimage from in the West End to the High Level Bridge to offer hope to anyone contemplating suicide. And Adrienne speaks to Mara Grunau, a suicide prevention specialist about self-care during the holidays.
Students who started suicide pact in Montreal say it was a ‘joke,’ experts not laughing
Three Montreal high school students have been suspended after plans for a suicide pact circulated through the school and collected dozens of signatures. Earlier this week, private secondary school, Collège d’Anjou sent a letter to parents saying a school staff member found a three-page letter inviting young people to take part in a suicide pact.
Be kind this holiday season
Be kind this holiday season Tomorrow is officially December, which means Christmas is just around the corner. For some, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. But for others, it’s not. Christmas is a time when most people are surrounded by family and friends, spending quality time together, exchanging gifts and indulging in turkey, stuffing, shortbread and sugar cookies.
First Responders Half Marathon
Trevor Soll from the First Responders Half Marathon and Mara Grunau from the Centre for Suicide Prevention tell us about this year’s race
Pull Quotes: Episode 4 – Stories after suicide
Last summer, Susan Clairmont published a long feature story in the Hamilton Spectator about Nicole Patenaude, a young woman who took her own life by jumping off a bridge onto a highway. Clairmont’s piece, which took months to report and write, looked at Nicole’s life and struggles with mental illness-and garnered a “huge” reaction from readers.
Calgary councillor reveals struggle with depression | Metro Calgary
After battling through his longest, toughest bout with depression yet, a Calgary city councillor chose to reveal his struggle publicly in the hope of chipping away at the stigma surrounding mental illness. Ward 11 Coun. Brian Pincott said in a series of tweets Sunday he had recently emerged from a four and a half year depression that had many days where “suicide was close.”
Letter: World Suicide Prevention Day
September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. Connecting with one, single individual can prove to be both life-affirming and life-saving. Our theme for the day is Connection, which is the essence of our work. Strengthening connection within ourselves, connection to others, and connection throughout our communities promotes resilience and hope.
URBAN MOBILITY FORUM / FORUM SUR LA MOBILITÉ URBAINE – SUMMER / ÉTÉ 2017
Digital Edition
Oil, Heartbreak, And Manhood: Behind The Mental Health Crisis Of Alberta’s Oil Workers
“Basically, the response is ‘don’t be a pussy.'” “It’s been more intense post-downturn, there’s no question about that,” says sociologist Sara Dorow from On the Move – a Canadian partnership of researchers from 27 international universities studying the mobile workforce, also known as FIFO (fly-in fly-out) workers.
Where can farmers turn to for mental health help?
Farmers and agriculture producers face many pressures, which can lead to anxiety, depression, and suicide.
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Why men are more likely to die by suicide and how to help someone at risk | Watch News Videos Online
Fri, Jun 16: Every year, thousands of men kill themselves, the suicide rate amongst men is three times higher than woman. Heather Yourex-West explains why and how you may be able to help someone at risk.
4 Misconceptions About Medically-Assisted Death in Canada
In June 2016, Bill C-14 – the law that decriminalizes medical assistance in dying (MAiD) – took effect in Canada. Road to Mercy follows doctors and their patients as they struggle to identify the limits of the newly-granted right to die in Canada.
Oilpatch workers susceptible due to nature of job – Red Deer Advocate
There’s a correlation between unemployment and suicide rates
Talking about suicide with students
A controversial Netflix show is sparking debate over how to discuss suicide with students.
Why one advocate wants you to talk to your kids, right now, about 13 Reasons Why
A suicide prevention advocate in Thunder Bay, Ont., is welcoming a new television show that has been widely criticized for making suicide glamorous. The Canadian Mental Health Association and the Centre for Suicide Prevention both issued statements recently raising concerns about the way the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why simplifies the causes of suicide and makes it seem like a viable or logical option.
School boards warn parents about the new Netflix series ’13 Reasons Why’
School boards in the area are warning parents about what they call a potentially dangerous show that has become the most tweeted about Netflix series in just one month. ’13 Reasons Why’ is a series about a teenage girl who commits suicide and leaves audio cassettes to all those who she says contributed to her death.
U of A professor calls drop in Alberta suicide rates ‘unexpected’ | Metro Calgary
High suicide rates in Alberta appear to be decreasing, which one expert calls “surprising.” “It’s counter-intuitive, you’d expect rates to go up when you have increases in economic distress,” said Peter Silverstone, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Alberta.
Alberta suicide rates remain high despite ‘encouraging’ 20% drop
The number of Albertans who committed suicide in the first half of 2016 is down compared to the same time last year, according to the latest statistics from the province. Between January and June, 255 people took their own lives. That’s 20 per cent fewer than during the first six months of 2015.
Pay it forward this holiday season
It’s officially December, which I would say is the most wonderful time of year, but that’s not the case for everyone. With a drop in oil prices causing thousands of layoffs across the province over the last two years, many Albertans can’t afford the kind of Christmas they used to have.
Ontario schools are missing ‘perfect opportunity’ to address mental health amid rash of youth suicides
Chelsea Lall remembers the first time she saw pill bottles and razor blades taped to her high school locker. Lall had been struggling with anxiety and depression and regularly cut up her arms to cope with the pain she felt inside amid nonstop bullying.
Currier: Suicide Prevention
Some of Canada’s leading experts on mental health gathered in Toronto on the week-end to swap ideas and information. Suicide prevention was one of the topics covered and I chatted with the head of the Centre for Suicide Prevention, Mara Grunau, in Calgary. Here’s that conversation
EXCLUSIVE: Alberta man involved in police standoff opens up about incident, says he’s turned his life around
Nine months ago an Alberta man was shot and critically wounded after being at the centre of a tense and dramatic standoff with police west of Edmonton. “The bullet’s still sitting on top of my C1,” Caleb Seeton, 30, says of the bullet that hit him in the head.
You Are Not Alone: A Suicide Prevention and Awareness Initiative | Teamsters 362
You Are Not Alone: Mental health is an issue that affects directly and indirectly everyone across the country, and yet stigma still surrounds the topic, especially suicide. In Alberta, we currently have the second highest rate of suicide in the country and there have been recent reports of the suicide rate climbing by 30 per cent.
World Suicide Prevention Day: What we still need to do
World Suicide Prevention Day allows people to take a moment and think about those who are suffering from mental health issues but it’s also a day to start a dialogue about what the world can do better. According to the World Health Organization, more than 800,000 people die by suicide each year.
Suicide survivor hopes tale of plunge from Golden Gate Bridge may steer others from that path
In the four seconds it took Kevin Hines to hit the water, the wave of relief he expected to feel was instantly replaced with one overriding emotion – regret. It was 2000, and a 19-year-old Hines decided to end his life than same way countless others had before him – he stepped off the deck of San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Bridge.
Suicide survivor shares his experience to help others
Kevin Hines was in Calgary on Monday to talk about his suicide attempt, how he survived depression and how others can keep from making the same mistake. He made a film about that day in September 2000 when he decided to end his life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, something he regretted the moment it happened.
‘I thought I had to die today’: Man who survived Golden Gate Bridge jump shares story in Calgary
“What have I just done?” Regret hammered Kevin Hines instantly. Four seconds later, so would the impact of the water 25 storeys below. On Sept. 24, 2000, the then 19-year-old leapt off the Golden Gate Bridge, prompted by an onset of violent auditory hallucinations tied to his bipolar disorder.
Golden Gate Bridge suicide survivor spreads words of hope
The fall took about four seconds, but the regret was instantaneous.
Take part in World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day is on Saturday, Sept. 10 and I encourage everyone to take part in the global movement. Suicide is a common, preventable tragedy that has been occurring more often in Alberta since the economy started going downhill.
World Suicide Prevention Day: What we still need to do
World Suicide Prevention Day allows people to take a moment and think about those who are suffering from mental health issues but it’s also a day to start a dialogue about what the world can do better. According to the World Health Organization, more than 800,000 people die by suicide each year.
‘They’re not prisoners’: AHS to review what led to suicide of psychiatric patient
Two weeks after a psychiatric patient died by suicide at the Peter Lougheed Centre, Alberta Health Services said it’s looking at the balancing act between freedom and treatment when it comes to mental illness. “We have to remember that these folks are patients, right?
Suicide attempts spike in St. Albert: average of one every day
Mara Grunau knows the math – for every one-per-cent increase in unemployment there is a similar increase in the suicide rate. But news of St. Albert’s recent spike in suicide attempts still came as a shock to the Centre for Suicide Prevention’s executive director.
Spread love, not hate
I am only 23 years old and have known four people who have died by suicide. There is something seriously wrong with that. It all started when I was nine years old and my brother, who was 19 at the time, took his own life.
There’s a way to deal with stigma around suicide
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Man Who Survived Suicide Jump From Golden Gate Bridge Shares His Story to Help Others: ‘The Moment I Hit Freefall Was an Instant Regret’
The millisecond after Kevin Hines jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge to the bay below, he felt instant regret. “I said to myself, ‘What have I done, I don’t want to die, God please save me,’ ” recalls Hines, 34, of his suicide jump in September 2000.
Man who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge coming to Penn
“It was the first millisecond, the first moment of free fall. I knew it was the worst mistake I ever made,” Hines, now 34, said recently. Hines, found to have bipolar disorder as a teenager, now travels the world urging others to not make that mistake.
Attawapiskat: Crisis has hallmarks of possible ‘suicide contagion’
TORONTO – A rash of suicide attempts by young people on the Attawapiskat reserve appears to be a case of so-called suicide contagion, a chain reaction triggered within the community by abominable living conditions and a shared sense of despair and hopelessness, experts say.
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