The death by suicide of two young employees earlier this week in Montreal has sent shockwaves through Quebec’s youth protection system.
According to La Presse, the two workers were young women between the ages of 23 and 26.
Sonia Bélanger, the head of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, gave her condolences to the victims’ relatives and to the teams “who are affected by this tragedy.”
“We are absolutely devastated by this terrible news, which has led to a significant shock wave in our establishments,” she said during a news conference about COVID-19 on Wednesday.
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Bélanger specified that psychosocial teams are to offer continuous psychological support to relatives of the two young women, as well as to employees with the youth protection system.
“We know that the protection of young people has received a lot of media coverage over the past year and these two deaths have created a certain commotion in our large community,” said Bélanger.
She said she would not make any other statements since Montreal police are investigating.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.
For a directory of support services in your area, visit the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention.
Learn more about how to help someone in crisis here.
— With files from Global News’ Kalina Laframboise
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