In honour of World Suicide Prevention Day, the Centre for Suicide Prevention, based in Calgary, Alberta, will be hosting three FREE suicide prevention workshops, including our own Straight Talk: Youth Suicide Prevention,  Tattered Teddies: Preventing Suicide in Children workshop along with the safeTALK: suicide awareness workshop.

In addition to attending our free workshops, you can participate in our information campaign. In the week leading up to Sept. 10, we will be tweeting and posting trivia questions about suicide! Our twitter handle is @cspyyc, and we’ll use the #wspd hashtag.

We’re also offering a free downloadable poster, available here.

Click here to view our World Suicide Prevention Day webpage

Information Campaign Questions

How many people die by suicide each year in Canada?
In 2009 a total of 3890 Canadians took their own lives.

Which age group is most at risk for suicide? 
Males aged 40-59 are most at risk for suicide. In 2009, 1361 men in this age group died by suicide in Canada.

Is the suicide rate higher around Christmas?
No. The holiday season can often be a protective factor for those at risk for suicide. 

What percentage of deaths of youth ages 15-24 are suicide?
In Canada, suicide accounts for 24% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds.

Which phrase is the most acceptable way of describing suicide?
The most appropriate, as it uses the least loaded, most neutral language is “death by,” or “died by” suicide.