Weekly News Roundup May 7 – 13, 2022
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Quebec investing $65 million to reduce suicides – CTV News
May 13, 2022
Quebec has announced $65 million will go towards a new province-wide suicide prevention strategy. One of the goals of the strategy is to reduce suicide deaths by 10% by 2026, with fewer than 1000 suicides per year. 20 years ago, the province’s first suicide prevention plan was implemented, which resulted in a lower suicide rate. “Since then, we have been stagnating. For us, it is time to give ourselves new means to ensure that we experience another spectacular decline,” said Jérôme Gaudreault, president and CEO of the Association québécoise de prévention du suicide (AQPS). The updated strategy will target priority populations such as First Nations and Inuit communities as well as adult men, who die by suicide most often.
Father cycles across Vancouver Island to heal after daughter’s suicide – CTV News
May 9, 2022
Thomas Ambrose lost daughter Edie Kanute, 15, to suicide last year. Ambrose and Kanute had been planning a 255-kilometer cycling trip together, but after Kanute died, Ambrose decided to follow through with the trip in her honour. He plans to do the trip annually to remember her, calling it “Wish you were here, Edie.” “This bike journey really helped my son to keep moving forward,” said Ambrose’s father Vince. “Towards healing and accepting his loss. He’s a very strong person to take this on.” Vince says the family was “broken” by the residential school system. “It’s really hard to pull families together. Sometimes it takes a great loss to do that.” Ambrose’s sister Leah said they didn’t speak about suicide openly: “It was learned that you don’t speak about suicide. There were no coping skills to be able to talk and deal with suicide. You don’t know what someone is going through unless you have those open lines of communication.” Ambrose says, “Just because somebody is happy doesn’t mean they’re not going through depression. Make sure that you’re checking on people — talk to them. Lend them a hand. Because behind the scenes, they might be crying.”
How JMU catcher Lauren Bernett’s death rocked college softball and pushed it to action on mental health – USA Today
May 9, 2022
College softball player Lauren Bernett died by suicide last month, at a time when she was doing well in her athletic career. Many college athletes have died by suicide recently, including Stanford soccer goalie Katie Meyer and Wisconsin runner Sarah Shulze. A US suicide prevention organization, the Jed Foundation, has found that the mental health challenges faced by college students have grown over the past few years. College athletes may be even more affected because of the additional pressure they face to succeed in their athletic endeavours. Oklahoma University softball coach Patty Gasso said, “I think these student-athletes are pushed and pressed and they have a lot of plates that are spinning and are trying to balance everything.” Since Bernett’s death, Gasso has organized a mental health webinar for coaches, connecting them to campus resources.
Related: Morgan will be 22 forever. How pressure of college sports can harm athletes’ mental health. – USA Today
Abdelrahman Elaraby shares suicide attempt, encourages others to seek help – Swim Swam
Old People Died Of Covid, Young People Are Dying By Suicide. Could Connecting Them Help? – Forbes
May 8, 2022
In the US, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34; but there are solutions to the mental distress felt by a person thinking about suicide. According to the author of this article, three things are needed to prevent and recover from mental health challenges: supportive relationships, a safe place to live, and a purpose in life. Many younger people experience a lack of connection to others, as do older adults. This article suggests that connecting the two generations could help the mental health of both.
Most kids who identify as transgender at a young age retain their affirmed gender, study finds – CBC News
May 5, 2022
Research shows that transgender people who desire a medical transition and receive one are less likely to think about suicide post-transition: 67% of transgender people thought more about suicide before transitioning whereas only 3% thought about it more post-transition. A new study of over 300 young people who first identified as transgender from the ages of 3 to 12 years old found that, 5 years later, 94% were still living as transgender and almost two-thirds were medically transitioning using hormones or puberty-blocking medication. “If you’re in the trenches doing this work day-in and day-out with trans kiddos and their families, this is what we see,” said Coleen Williams, a psychologist who works with Boston Children’s Hospital’s Gender Multispecialty Service. “A majority of transgender youth and kids who make a social transition remain living in their affirmed gender.”