Provincial suicide data a chance for dialogue, says victim’s brother

Barry Hopkins was 49 years old when he took his own life.

He had struggled with bipolar disorder for decades. He tried again and again to commit suicide, going all the way back to his teenage years. But it was on an afternoon in August 2010 that his brother, John, made a tragic discovery in Barry’s Regina home.

“I was the one to find the body,” said John Hopkins. “It was an enormous shock to find my brother dead and to have to phone the police.

“The pain of living became too much for him and he decided to do what he did.”

Barry was one of the 1,895 Saskatchewan people who died by suicide between 2005 and 2017, according to newly-released statistics from the coroner’s office. Some of the data for recent years is preliminary, but it’s the first time the data has been posted online for anyone to consult.

John, who is CEO of the Regina Chamber of Commerce, sees the new information as a chance to bring more attention to a problem that’s too often kept silent.

“I think the more we can bring awareness to mental health and people getting help, the more likely we are to prevent suicide,” he said.

Those in Barry’s age group are at particular risk — 336 Saskatchewan people between the ages of 40 and 49 died by suicide over the period. That was the second highest of any 10-year age group. Those between 20 and 29 were the most likely to take their own life, with 413 suicides between 2005 and 2017.

Shellie Pociuk, the CEO of Family Service Regina, said times of transition can be especially risky.

“I think there’s a lot of pressure in those years. A lot of times you’re trying to find your independence,” she said. “You might be losing some of those supports you had in the past.”

Men are also far more likely than women to end their lives. The stats show that 1,421 men died by suicide in Saskatchewan during those years, compared to 474 women — a three-to-one difference. Pociuk said that could be because women feel less stigma asking for help, something she notices at her centre.

“We do work with a lot more women,” she said. “They do seem more willing to come forward early on.”

Donna Bowyer of the Canadian Mental Health Association said the way men are taught to keep their emotions inside is a major barrier. When men tell other men they’re struggling, the response can be “suck it up princess, or man up,” she said.

She also pointed to how men use more lethal means of suicide.

“Males will tend to choose something that doesn’t allow time for them to rethink, to change their mind,” she said, “something like a gun or a rope.”

Bowyer agreed with John that the new data, and the discussions it might engender, are a step forward in the fight against suicide in Saskatchewan.

“We all play a part in helping people reduce those stats,” she said. “But first you have to recognize that there’s a problem.”

Pociuk called the data “a validation of what we see happening with the clients that we have coming through our doors.” She said it likely won’t change the way they work on a day-to-day basis. But it might prompt the public to have difficult conversations with those they love.

“If it helps friends and families and employers take notice of when somebody is struggling and help them get to the support they

need, I think that’s a great thing,” she said.

“We need to have suicide as a conversation that isn’t embarrassing or scary.”

John hopes that happens. The pain of Barry’s loss has been hard on his family.

“It’s devastating. My kids still miss him to this day,” he said.

“There isn’t a holiday that goes by that we don’t think about him.”