Reaching out and saving lives

When you need help, you want someone to reach out, listen to what you have to say, and show you they care. That’s why the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Champlain East is proud to promote World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), held on September 10, 2015.

In keeping with the theme this year, Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out and Saving Lives, the Coalition and its website, w w w . re a c h o u tnow.ca, encourage the population of Eastern Ontario to reach out and offer support if they think someone they know may be considering suicide. All it takes is to ask whether they are ok and to listen to what they have to say in a non-judgmental manner.

It’s also important to offer support to the family, friends and community members who are left behind after a suicide. While it may be difficult to start the conversation, giving an individual who has lost a loved one to suicide the opportunity to talk about their loss, on their own terms, can help them to move forward through their grieving process.

If unsure about how to reach out to someone who may need support, check out the “How to Reach Out” section at www.reachoutnow.ca. The section offers a variety of tips on how to help someone going through hard times. “This is a valuable tool providing strategies to help prevent suicides in our communities,” said Robyn Hurtubise, Manager of the Injury Prevention Program at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU). The Coalition also encourages the public to participate in safeTALK training, which uses the TALK method (Tell, Ask, Listen and KeepSafe) to help a person who may be considering suicide and to refer them to the right place for help. A safeTALK workshop will be offered on September 10 in English at the Knox-St. Paul United Church at 800 Twelfth Street East in Cornwall, from 9 am to noon. For further information, please contact safeTALK trainer Joanne Ledoux-Moshonas at 613-933-5845, ext. 223, or by email at moshonasj@cmhaeast.on.ca.

The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Champlain East is a partnership made up of 23 organizations from the City of Cornwall, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, and Akwesasne. A list of the participating organizations can be found on the website.

More information about suicide prevention can be found at www.reachoutnow. ca, or contact the Canadian Mental Health Association at 613-933-5845 or 1-800-4938271. Help can be found at the Mental Health Crisis Line at 1-866-996-0991. The EOHU can help as well. Call 613-933-1375 or 1-800267-7120 and ask for Health Line, or visit www.eohu.ca.

The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Champlain East is proud to promote World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD),

held on September 10, 2015.