Weekly News Roundup July 2 – 7, 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:
Suicide prevention: can a petition save lives on this bridge? – BBC
July 5, 2019
Many people have died from a bridge in a town in Scotland, so many that the deaths are being referred to as a suicide cluster. Almost everyone knows someone who has died from the bridge including Georgie, 24, who has started a petition to put up barriers on the bridge.
Learn more about suicide clusters in this article.
Who speaks for the dead in Northwestern Ontario? How First Nations are left reeling when coroners won’t come – Globe and Mail
July 3, 2019
In Ontario, coroners are supposed to investigate any deaths by murder, fire, suicide, or accident: they confirm the identification of the deceased and help determine how, when, and where they died. This information can help identify mortality trends and coroners can make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in light of the information. However, for about a decade, in many northern Ontario First Nation communities these investigations have not been taking place, and dozens of teen suicides have not been investigated. Dirk Huyer, the Chief Coroner of Ontario, “recognizes the situation is unacceptable.”
Better ways to prevent suicide – American Psychological Association
July/August 2019
This article is part of a series on the most significant issues facing the field of psychology. Suicide prevention is covered for the first part of the series, and experts in the field are interviewed about what makes suicide prevention unique and how they work to prevent suicides. “In the suicide field, psychologists are really partnering across three arms: science, services and policy,” said Joan Asarnow, PhD, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the University of California. “We need basic science to inform our treatments. And on the other end, we need to find ways to get these [prevention and treatment] approaches into our communities.”
They saw a man about to jump off a highway overpass. Cell phone video captured what happened next. – CNN
July 3, 2019
*Trigger warning*
Jen Principe and Toni Musso intervened with a man who they saw on the ledge of a highway overpass while stuck in traffic in Agoura Hills, California. Principe and Musso were inspired to help after watching a story about Kevin Hines, a suicide attempt survivor: “That’s the one thing that really stuck with me … Kevin Hines saying that had anybody been nice to him, anybody tried to stop him, that this wouldn’t have happened,” Principe said.
“Bodies and minds are breaking down”: Inside US border agency’s suicide crisis – Quartz
July 2, 2019
More than 100 US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees died by suicide between 2007 and 2018. Officers are dealing with mental health issues due to job stress and financial problems. The CBP is asking for more funding to go to the agency’s Employee Assistance Program which provides counselling and other psychological supports for those struggling.
Subscribe to this weekly mailing list