308 conversations and the need for suicide prevention

A person dies from suicide in Canada every 121 minutes.

That was just one of the startling statistics a number of mental health and addictions stakeholders shared at the #308conversations event at Cambrian College Thursday.

Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle hosted the event after the Mental Health Commission of Canada challenged the country's 308 members of Parliament to lead discussions around mental health and suicide in their communities.

“It's very important that suicide be on the minds of Canadians because there is a suicide every 121 minutes,” Gravelle said. “That's a very high rate of suicide, and it's even higher among our First Nations.”

The event featured a number of panellists who discussed various issues related to suicide, and table discussions to come up with solutions to prevent suicide.

Gravelle said the day's goal was to bring recommendations to the Mental Health Commission of Canada so it can develop a suicide prevention tool kit that would be distributed across Canada.

But only a few MPs have hosted similar events in or around their ridings, Gravelle said.

Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas was also at the #308conversations event, and said the province has not done enough to improve treatment and services for people with mental health and addictions issues.

In 2010, Gélinas was part of the Select Committee on Mental Health and Addiction, which issued a final report in August of that year, that made 23 recommendations to improve Ontario's mental health and addictions services.

Gélinas said most of the recommendations were never implemented.

Those included the need assess the number of acute care psychiatric beds for both children and adults in every region, and a province-wide review of emergency department protocols to ensure they can properly deal with people who have mental health or addictions issues.

Denis Boileau, executive director of the Sudbury and Thunder Bay clinics with Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers, briefly shared his own experience contemplating suicide.

He said a group of friends and acquaintances helped him see life was worth living, after he had gone through a difficult period in his life. Boileau spoke about mental health in the workplace and the need for open communication between employers and their employees to create healthy workplaces.

Jordan Barr, a student doing engagement work at Health Sciences North, talked about a new phone app, called Be Safe, the hospital is promoting to help people access mental health services if they are contemplating suicide.

Barr said people who believe they might be at risk of harming themselves can download the app, which asks them to answer a series of short “yes or no” questions and determines which services they should then contact.

The target audience for the app, said Barr, is young people between the ages of 14 and 24.

“The app is an easy way to speak a language all youth understand, which is technology and cellphones,” Barr said.

Barr has been promoting the app, and a related website called mindyourmind.ca, at schools and youth centres.

“Our aim is to connect people with resources that are available in the community,” he said.