‘Always doing things for other people’
Mark Halliday was a man who was active in the community and made the best of his situation, despite his struggles with mental health, his brother said.
About the only thing he didn’t do was reach out for help before his death by suicide at the Burgoyne Bridge last Wednesday. It was the second death at the bridge in six days.
“Mark was diagnosed in his 20s as bipolar, and he had a lot of anxiety,” said his brother Chris. “He was on disability because he couldn’t work, and he didn’t have a lot of money, but he was always doing things for other people. He would organize shoe drives and clothing drives for the homeless people he knew from the neighbourhood. He lived downtown.
“He didn’t have an easy life, but he said there is always someone worse off. Mark tried to make their lives a little better. He shared a kinship with people who faced similar situations. He knew what it was like. More than anything, he liked to make other people happy.”
Halliday’s death, like that of 19-year-old Tanner Unger, shook the community.
Experts from Niagara Health and Pathstone Mental Health have highlighted that mental health disorders are treatable and suicide preventable.
There was a candle-light memorial and rally for mental health services Sunday at the bridge. A Facebook event, Stand Up For Mental Health in Ontario, invited the community to come together and fight for “free resources and a new mental health plan” for the province, said one of
the organizers, Megan Schmoyer.
Meanwhile, Halliday’s family is preparing for visitation at 10 a.m. Thursday at George Darte Funeral home that will be followed by a celebration at noon.
Halliday, 43, was born and raised in St. Catharines.
“He loved animals,” his brother said. “He was always surrounded by all kinds of them. He worked with some charity rescue organizations and would foster the ones that needed to most care. He had a handicapped dog for a while that was paralyzed from the waist down.”
Last Thursday, Niagara Region, City of St. Catharines, Niagara Emergency Medical Services and Niagara Regional Police sat down to begin to formulate an improved suicide prevention strategy in wake of the recent tragedies. The working group plans to meet again Wednesday. The short-term strategy includes:
• Signs at key locations in Niagara with information about mental health crisis support;
• Increased patrols by police in downtown St. Catharines, site of the Burgoyne Bridge.
Under review are:
• Installation of barriers and netting in areas where suicides have occurred;
• Improved methods to increase awareness of the outreach and crisis services already available;
• Intensified efforts to reduce the stigma and isolation of people who are dealing with mental health issues.
Chris Halliday, is an engineer for Algoma Central Corp. The last time he heard from Mark was through a text message he received aboard a ship in Thunder Bay. The text was about the family’s Thanksgiving dinner. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the message. Mark said he had some anxiety and tinnitus, and by the time symptoms subsided, it was time to go home.
“Over the last year or so, he said his anxiety has been increasing, and he wasn’t sure why. Things that didn’t bother him before were making him anxious, but he seemed like he was doing all right. He wasn’t on drugs or anything. The toxicology report from the coroner said he didn’t have any drugs or alcohol in his system. His blood work was clean; everything was in balance. The only thing the coroner found was the medication he was supposed to be on.”
There are resources available in Niagara for someone with suicidal thoughts.
They include Pathstone’s 24/7 crisis hotline, 1-800-263-4944. Niagara Distress Centre has 24-hour service at 905-688-3711.