Deaths by suicide in British Columbia have been on the decline since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the BC Coroners Service.
“There were 534 deaths due to suicide in the province and that is a reduction of 12 per cent from between April 2019 and February 2020,” said Ryan Panton, a BC Coroners Service spokesperson.
Following that trend, deaths by suicide have also been decreasing in the Okanagan.
“In the period of time of between April 2020 – Feb. 2021, the Interior Health region reported 118 deaths by suicide, which is down from 135 deaths in between April 2019 – Feb. 2020,” said Panton.
The statistics are not normally released by the BC Coroner Service, but now have been in response to concerns from the public.
“It’s important to note, this isn’t the type of information we share,” said Panton
“This is more of a response to an interest by the public.”
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) says while the report’s initial findings are encouraging, the stats may not be telling the entire story.
“I was surprised to see the numbers based on our experience of calls and the severity of the calls,” said Julia Payson, CMHA Vernon’s executive director.
“Part of me is hopeful all the work and investment over the past year has made a difference but I also see at the same time the incredible number of overdose deaths and the huge push we’ve seen on our mental health services.”
The CMHA in Vernon says they’ve seen a massive increase in people using their mental health services, especially their hotlines.
“Over the course of the pandemic, our call centre has answered 60 per cent more calls than the previous year,” said Payson.
“And across the Interior crisis line, I know that has gone up about 30 per cent in the last year.”
People are reaching out and using mental health services more than ever before, according to CMHA, but its hard to say if that is directly bringing suicide deaths down.
However, CMHA Vernon says they have directly prevented over 2,000 emergency room visits through their crisis hotline.
You can read the full BC Coroners report here.
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health issues, you can call these hotlines for help:
Interior Crisis Line: 1-888-353-2273
BC Crisis Line: (no area code needed) 310-6789
Interior Crisis Chat: http://www.interiorcrisisline.com/crisischat
Suicide Crisis Line: 1-800-784-2433
Canadian Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-2566
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