Speaking up could lower Canada’s suicide rate
Posted Sep 11, 2011 06:08:50 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
September 10th marks World Suicide Prevention Day.
The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention is hosting events around the country to raise awareness about the topic.
In Ottawa a concert will be held at the Centrepointe Theatre at 8 p.m. Saturday, featuring Canadian singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark and Irish rock band Friends of Emmet.
It’s a subject that is hard to broach, and can be shrouded in secrecy and even shame.
But the executive director of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Tim Wall, said the public needs to speak up about suicide.
“To educate people about suicide, so that they know what the causes of suicide are, to know, in particular, when they should behaving a conversation with someone that they think might be vulnerable and that people then know what to do,” said Wall.
He said the fear that talking about suicide might plant the idea in a vulnerable person’s head is a myth and it’s important people recognize the signs so they can get the help they need.
Almost 4,000 Canadians take their lives every year, and Wall said Canada is in the top third of all countries in terms of its suicide rate.
