Edmonton launches awareness campaign on suicide prevention

EDMONTON On an average day in Edmonton, 11 people attempt, or die by, suicide.

Blake Loates was once one of those 11 Edmontonians. She has struggled with mental health for most of her life, first experiencing suicidal thoughts when she was only 10 years old.

“Eventually, it became too much,” said Loates.

Loates, an avowed mental health activist, was able to access resources and enter on a road to recovery.

Now, she hopes a new city campaign unveiled Tuesday at city hall will help others in crisis get help.

The 11 Of Us awareness campaign will appear across the city in places like bus shelters, billboards and recreation facilities.

Launched on World Suicide Prevention Day, it aims to teach people signs of behaviour associated with suicide and provide information on how to talk to someone who may be suicidal.

“We want everybody to be involved and everyone to see it as their role to be involved in suicide prevention, and not only a psychiatrist or not only a social worker,” said Ione Challborn, the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Edmonton Region.

“There are signs that all of us that, if we know somebody, we can reach out. It’s giving Edmontonians tools. We believe with that approach, we will move the needle on suicide prevention in Edmonton.”

According to Alberta Health Services, 7,254 Albertans visited the emergency room for suicide attempts, with half of those patients under the age of 25.

In 2017, suicide was the ninth most common cause of death across Canada.

If someone you know is exhibiting signs that they are suicidal, Challborn says the best approach is to start a frank conversation with them.

“The next thing is just to listen to what the person has to say, and then the next thing after that is to get that person connected to support in the community,” she said.

For Loates, the benefit of a city campaign like this is that it shows that people are becoming more willing to have open conversations about suicide, often a taboo subject in the past.

“We’re now willing as a community and a city to shine a light into some really dark areas,” she said. “Suicide is something that we typically don’t speak very openly about and it’s pretty remarkable that the City of Edmonton is willing to say that this is a problem and we need to solve it.”

The city also commemorated the day by proclaiming Tuesday World Suicide Prevention Day in Edmonton.