B.C. man calls for Haida Gwaii-based crisis line after son’s suicide

A Haida Gwaii man is advocating for a mental health crisis line that would serve the archipelago, after his son died by suicide.

Mark Baggaley, a resident of Queen Charlotte village, said he attempted to call the local mental health unit three times in the three days before his son Shaun took his own life on April 1, at the age of 29.

He was not able to get through to speak with anyone.

“They didn’t call back until after he was gone,” Baggaley recalled.

Frustrated and desperate, Baggaley attempted to call the provincial crisis line on his son’s behalf as a plan B.

He also tried reaching out to family friends and other members of the community, he said.

“Busy. It was busy every time,” he said.

“I just needed someone to talk to Shaun that wasn’t me, to let him know what supports were there.”

After going through Shaun’s phone records, Baggaley found his son also tried to call for help several times in the days leading to his death.

He also had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for April 14, two weeks after his death.

“When going through this process, Shaun was doing all the ‘right’ things,” Baggaley said.

“A person in crisis needs to have someone pick up the phone. When you reach out, you need to have someone there. That wasn’t the case here.”

Shaun worked in biotech and hazmat, cleaning up fatality scenes in Vancouver and Prince George before returning home to Haida Gwaii. According to Baggaley, he struggled with PTSD and depression due to the nature of his work.

Baggaley believes an island-specific line would help fill gaps in the system, and ease the burden on existing resources.

He says he reached out to the local municipal governments, the Skidegate Band Council and the Council of the Haida Nation to gauge community interest.

He has also contacted the Ministry of Health and Mental Health and Addictions to see if the idea is feasible.

“It’s going to take a lot of work, because we are a small population, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” he said. “It’s going to take a community, but this is true for the whole province.”

Northern Health has a list of resources available by community on its website, including mental health and substance use community programs that serve the Haida Gwaii communities of Queen Charlotte and Masset.

“Community programs provide assessment, treatment and referrals for adults with mental health and/or substance use problems,” the health authority says on its website.

The Island Wellness Society also offers counselling and other resources for women and youth.

“They are available but they already have a dedicated job, I believe we need a dedicated crisis line,” Baggaley explained.

“I feel, and most people feel like the community wants to care of itself. Otherwise, we have to send our people away from here, and once they go away, they don’t have their community around them, especially our Indigenous community.

“We have, generally speaking a very close-knit island. When someone’s in trouble, we try and help. I see a crisis line as a first line of defense.”

Baggaley, who feels his family fell through the cracks, believes his experience points to a larger issue, and said there needs to be more supports available at a community level.

“A person that leaves here with medical or mental health problems, they are thrown into a situation that has a life of its own. A lot of times, you’re lost anyway when you get there, trying to negotiate an unfamiliar and often unwelcoming situation,” he said.

“When you have a community, so many people come up to you and even just give you a hug. It feels so good to have that feeling around you. It’s so important.”

For the northern region as a whole, there is a 24-hour crisis line, youth support line and youth online chat, operated out of Prince George by the Northern B.C. Crisis Centre (NBCC).

It services an area from the Alberta border to Haida Gwaii, and from Quesnel north to the Yukon border.

Other resources include a B.C.-wide crisis line for Indigenous people.

The NBCC warns it has been experiencing high call volumes, resulting in lines across the country being overloaded, leading to incomplete calls, and is asking callers to try again if there is no answer the first time.

The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) says it cannot speak to the specific circumstances of the request for a dedicated crisis line serving the island.

It acknowledges that both the opioid crisis and COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in unprecedented call volumes across the province’s crisis lines, and says despite best efforts, current crisis line providers have not been able to keep up with demand.

However, the PHSA says a number of changes are expected in the new year as part of an enhancement project.

“(It) will aim to meet the increased demands on the  system while also making key, system-wide improvements to make sure the services are high quality and responsive to people’s needs,” the PHSA said in a statement.

As of Spring 2022, the PHSA will oversee all crisis line services in B.C., with the selection of operators to begin later this fall.

“The current challenges are not a reflection the abilities of our crisis line centres; they have done the very best they can with limited resources,” the PHSA said.

“We are hopeful that the new investment and changes being rolled out in the coming year will result in an effective crisis line system.”

Baggaley remembers his son as a talented artist, sensitive soul, and someone who was passionate about his community.

He was certified to clean up oil spills and often worked in soup kitchens and halfway houses, he added. The family is planning to organize his works into an art show in his memory.

“I can still hear him, I can still see him,” he said. “I’ll remember his heart, and his spirit.”

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