In an effort to promote understanding and to address stigmas surrounding mental illness, the Saskatchewan government is recognizing Sept. 10 as World Suicide Prevention Day.
“Losing a family member, friend or colleague to suicide is a tragedy that deeply affects the entire community,” Mental Health and Addictions Health Minister Tim McLeod stated in a release.
“Mental health and suicide prevention continue to be high priorities for our government.”
The release read that this year Saskatchewan is investing a record $518 million in mental health and addictions services, including $2.25 million specifically for suicide prevention initiatives.
“The Ministry of Health has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to find an organization to develop and operate a provincial suicide postvention program,” the release read. “It is anticipated that the successful proponent will be announced this fall.”
Danielle Cameron, Hope Learning Centre’s acting director, said one of the main issues that Saskatchewanians face while navigating the current system is communication.
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“Just not knowing what resources are out there,” Cameron said. “There’s lots of really wonderful resources that we don’t necessarily know about.”
The Hope Learning Centre is a non-profit organization that is part of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Saskatchewan. The centre delivers suicide intervention training and also provides safe talk programming.
“Safe talk (is) basically just knowing the signs and symptoms of a person with thoughts of suicide and … navigating the different organizations with different helps that we have,” Cameron said. “Being able to keep them safe for now and then finding somebody that whether that’s a professional or even somebody that’s trained in assist.”
According to the Saskatchewan Coroner’s office, 2018 marked the worst year in the province’s history for suicide at 241 cases. In 2023, there are 76 cases.
The province announced that work is underway to implement “988,” a national suicide crisis number that will launch later this year.
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 at suicideprevention.ca.
Learn more about preventing suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.
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