World Suicide Prevention Day

PRINCE GEORGE – September 10th marks World Suicide Prevention Day, a day dedicated to creating awareness for suicide prevention and education. This day of awareness started in 2003 by the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). 

On average, 10 Canadians take their own life everyday, which makes suicide the ninth leading cause of death in Canada. In 2016, the province of BC saw nearly 600 deaths by suicide, almost 13 per 100,000 people. The Northern BC Crisis Centre is one of many centres across the country that provides a 24/7 confidential, crisis support line and learning resources for supporting someone who is struggling with suicide. 

“When we are silent about suicide, that keeps the stats the same, as they have been in Canada for the last 30 years. We lose roughly 4000 Canadians each year, so not talking about it isn’t working,” says Sandra Boulianne, Executive Director of the Northern BC Crisis Centre. 

World Suicide Prevention Day is meant to help remove the stigma behind talking about suicide and mental health, and to encourage those who need help to reach out to someone they can trust.