Weekly News Roundup October 22-28, 2022
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UWindsor tells students ‘it matters that you’re here’ with new year-round suicide prevention program – CBC
October 27, 2022
The University of Windsor has launched a new suicide prevention program as part of their student mental health strategy. “(Suicide) is not just a university issue — it’s a public health issue,” said Beg. Dr. Mohsan Beg, director of student health, counselling and wellness services at U of Windsor said, “We said we need to do something to make getting help easier, setting up a compassionate caring community and letting students know that they can reach out for help and even one suicide is one too many.” A new online resource has been created that provides students with resources and life-affirming messages.
The first comprehensive national study on wellness in the legal profession is published – Federation of Law Societies in Canada
October 27, 2022
A new report has found that legal professionals in all areas of practice experience high levels of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, burnout, and suicidal ideation, and that those in the first years of practice experience the highest rates of distress. “The report is a wake-up call for the profession and the regulators,” said Nicolas Plourde, President of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. “The findings are extremely troubling, but the study provides us with information we need for all the stakeholders – employers, regulators and legal professionals themselves – to make evidence-based decisions about policies and practices that will help.”
Mark Holland discusses personal trauma in plea to make politics more compassionate – CBC
October 25, 2022
Government House Leader Mark Holland spoke to a parliamentary committee about the trauma he experienced after losing his seat in the 2011 election. After the loss, he attempted suicide, and his relationships suffered. Holland says, “When I lost, because I had thrown my entire universe into this enterprise, to the expense of unfortunately a lot of other things I should have taken better care of. I was in a really desperate spot. I was told that I was toxic. The Conservatives hated me. No organization would hire me. My marriage failed. My space with my children was not in a good place and most particularly my passion — the thing I believed so ardently in … the purpose of my life — was in ashes at my feet.” Holland went on to discuss how politics could be done differently in parliament to promote the mental health of politicians. “If we create a place where people give more than they take, people who take more responsibility than they give blame … This place needs to be more human, it needs to be more compassionate. Hybrid isn’t an answer, but I submit that it’s a start,” Holland said.
After a UPS worker’s suicide, employees disclose ‘tragic’ conditions at largest facility – Guardian
October 24, 2022
This article is about a recent workplace suicide at UPS Worldport, the largest automated package sorting facility in the world. The facility is located in Louisville, Kentucky and employs 20,000 people. Difficult workplace conditions have been brought to light following the suicide of a pregnant worker who had recently been fired. UPS Worldport workers say that there are intense productivity and quota pressures, injuries are common, the environment is not sanitary, and the facility is understaffed. One worker who had experienced a workplace injury said, “We’re constantly being watched and scrutinized and everything that we do is never good enough. I have walked out of the building in tears before because I’m just so physically and mentally exhausted.” Another worker expressed the importance of better mental health services for workers. “A lot of people talk about how the younger generation seems like they can’t keep a job or that they’re lazy or they don’t want to work. But the thing is, a lot of us are exerting every ounce of our mental energy to go to work every day and deal with the work conditions that we’ve been put into. If workers are not in a good mental state, they cannot work, and if they are forced to continue to work in those conditions, things like this will continue to happen.” UPS has denied poor working conditions and said that the health and safety of their employees is their first priority.
Suicide Risk Among Justice-Impacted People – Thirteen PBS
October 24, 2022
New York City’s Department of Corrections reported that in 2022, 50% of the prison population had a mental health diagnosis and 16% had a ‘serious’ mental health diagnosis. Dr. Josephine Wonsun Hahn, the former research director of Racial Equity and Fairness at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice said, “It is understandable that jail may in fact exacerbate a person’s mental illness, and quickly. Indeed, according to the Justice Department, most jail suicides happen soon after admission, with nearly half of suicides occurring within seven days of arrival. A significant proportion of jail suicides — 77 percent — occur by detained people who are charged but not convicted of any crime and are therefore legally presumed innocent.”