Federal funding for suicide hotline applauded

And on Tuesday, that suicide hotline received funding in the federal budget to the tune of nearly 159 million dollars over three years. But for the MP who initiated this movement, there needs to be more of a commitment.

“My worry, as always, is, is it enough to make sure that we can make a dent in a stem that tide of suicides? And because the last thing I want is somebody pick up that phone and there’s nobody on the other end or that this government or, you know, the next government makes a decision to cancel it,” says Todd Doherty.

And that rate of suicide in this country is staggering.

“Those are deaths that are reported as suicides,” says Schmidt. “The actual number is probably much higher. But if we stick with that figure of 4500 deaths per year, that’s about 12 a day, which is quite astounding. And certain age groups, for example, 15 to 34 year olds, it’s actually the second highest cause of death for that group of people in this country.”

Schmidt says, while there are an average of 12 suicides a day in this county, there is an average of two hundred attempts, according to data from the Canadian Mental Health Association.

He says there is a failure of funding for follow-up counselling. He adds there is still something of a stigma around mental illness, though it is getting better. “We’ve had public education campaigns like Bells’ “Let’s Talk,” for example,” says Schmidt. “You know, prominent athletes, for example, have come forward and talked about their personal struggles with mental health issues. And so there is less stigma attached. People are more willing to talk about mental health concerns.”

He says mental health is often the “poor cousin” in the health care system, compared to cardiology or neurology.

by Cheryl Jahn

Federal funding for suicide hotline applauded

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