Weekly News Roundup Sept. 28 – Oct. 4, 2020

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: Medicine Hat’s suicide numbers are on pace to double last year’s – Medicine Hat NewsOctober 3, 2020Medicine Hat, Alberta, had 5 suicides in 2019: 3 male, 2 female. So far […]

Weekly News Roundup April 23 – 28, 2019

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: Mental-health programs tailored for Muslims gain traction in Canada – Globe and Mail April 28, 2019 The Khalil Centre, a non-profit offering counselling and other mental health services, opened in Toronto last […]

Weekly News Roundup Mar 25 – 31, 2019

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: Media contagion of suicide is real. Here’s how to fix it. – SalonMarch 30, 2019This article explores the phenomenon of suicide contagion as it relates to the recent suicide deaths of […]

How many people are affected by one suicide?

For decades researchers asserted that six people are greatly affected by each suicide death. This statistic can be traced back to the pioneering suicidologist Edwin Shneidman. In the early 1970s, he based this figure on the average size of an immediate family. The figure was never scientifically tested but has persisted as the go-to number […]