North Battleford grieves three young people

SASKATOON The community of North Battleford has been looking to each other for support after the recent suicides of three of its young residents.

Two male students at the North Battleford Comprehensive High School and a 21-year-old woman all committed suicide within a month of each other.

This February will also mark the one year anniversary of another youth suicide from the same school.

Brenda Vickers, the director of education for the Living Sky School Division, says the deaths have cast a shadow over the city.

The school division is working closely with the entire community to make sure that their students feel supported and have access to someone they trust at all times if they feel as if they need to talk.

“This is bigger than the schools, this is a community tragedy ... there are other schools close by and the kids have close ties to those schools too, so we are using our student services person just to assess the situation and then deploy the councillors as we need them,” she explained.

They are also calling in any adults with close ties to the high school to support not only the students but also staff members who are also grieving and may need extra support.

Vickers said the next priority is to work on a long term plan to support other students who might also be suffering, though she noted it’s too early to know what that plan will look like.

On Wednesday the Catholic and public school systems held a joint meeting with parents to discuss their concerns and help provide information on how to speak with children about suicide and mental health issues.

“One of the comments last night was to take it out of closet and bring it to the kitchen table,” said Cory Rideout, the director of education for the Light of Christ Catholic School Division.

“Just talking to your kid about this is not going to put it in their mind per se. It’s healthy, because youth deal with grief different than adults.”

Isaiah Wiebe, a youth worker within the community who had a close relationship with one of the victims for the last four years through a bible camp, said hearing the news was “devastating.”

“You just realize that you very often just assume someone is OK. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in that state, but I’m sure it’s not something you want to share so unless someone is being very intentional with you — it would just be very easy to keep it to yourself,” he said.

He said the reaction from the community has been a positive step forward.

“Those who knew him are really banding together now,” Wiebe said.

Just talking to your kid about this is not going to put it in their mind per se. It’s healthy, because youth deal with grief different than adults.