Suicide Prevention, Intervention, &
Postvention: A Year in Review
Mental Health Commission of Canada
Presented by:
Meg Schellenberg & Jenn Ward, MHCC Tuesday December 9, 2014
Hosts
Jenn Ward Meg Schellenberg
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Important! Send questions/comments to:
‘All Participants’
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Overview
1. MHCC Role in Suicide Prevention, Postvention & Intervention 2. Key Accomplishments – 2014
Suicide Prevention Webinar Series
Suicide Prevention Virtual Conference
World Suicide Prevention Day
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
#308 Conversations
National Collaborative for Suicide Prevention 3. The way forward
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MHCC Mandate (2007‐2017)
“The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is a catalyst for improving the mental health system and changing the attitudes and behaviours of Canadians around mental health
issues.
Through its unique mandate from Health Canada, the MHCC brings together leaders and organizations from across the
country to accelerate these changes.”
Program areas and priorities (2013‐2015)
Mental Health Strategy of Canada
Workplace Anti‐Stigma Housing and Homelessness
Mental Health First Aid
Suicide Prevention
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Why does it matter?
• Every two hours a Canadian will die by suicide (4000/year): a mother, a soldier, a youth, a father, a senior.
• A significant portion of those contemplating suicide are experiencing anxiety, depression, hopelessness and lack of connection.
• The Mental Health Commission of Canada has the responsibility to effect real and lasting change in the lives of all Canadians by leading a pan‐Canadian effort to reduce suicide in Canada. MHCC has made suicide prevention a priority.
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Suicide Prevention Webinar Series
Learning objectives:
• Create and exchange knowledge;
• Understand link between suicide and mental illness;
• Understand why people die by suicide, causes of suicide and complexity;
• Increase levels of comfort/confidence in talking about suicide with those at risk and the general population;
• Increase awareness of community and suicide prevention resources and how to access them.
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Webinar Series (con’t)
Topics include:
• Peer support
• Trauma‐informed care
• At‐risk populations (i.e. LGBTQ youth)
• Technology in suicide prevention
• Injury prevention
• Canadian Distress Line Network
= Increased awareness, implementation methods, cross‐
fertilization of ideas, connections
Who is tuning in? A snapshot
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Suicide Prevention Virtual Conference
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
‐ Plato
Title: “Connecting Canada: Conversations about Community, Collaboration & Hope”
Date: November 19‐21, 2014 Where: Online!
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World Suicide Prevention Day | September 10, 2014
“Connecting Canada”
…a connection with oneself, with others, and that a sense of community is critical to an individual’s sense of hopefulness and
wellbeing.
• Raise awareness
• Engage public in dialogue
• Social media and media engagement
• Work across organizations, communities, gov’t, etc.
• Showcase community events
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WSPD 2014 ‐ Social Media Campaign
• Landing page: 1,630 unique page views
• WSPD banner: 100 clicks in 9 days
• Tweet: 132,567 POTENTIAL IMPRESSIONS and 89 RETWEETS: (published September 10)
“Today is World #SuicidePrevention Day. Take action & help prevent suicide. Show your commitment to saving lives”.
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
November 21‐22, 2014
• Expanding the definition of Suicide Prevention to always include Postvention
• Why does Postvention matter?
• Who is a “Survivor?”
• “ You are not alone”
• Call to action
• Telling your Story Safely
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ISOSL Day 2014 ‐ Social Media Campaign
Landing page: 580 unique page views
• Tweet: 12,850 POTENTIAL IMPRESSIONS
".@MHCC_ toolkit w/ resources for Survivors of #Suicide Loss & Postvention Professionals: http://ow.ly/ED1Bd
#survivorday #raiseHOPE“
• “Sharing your Suicide Survivor Safely”
- Over 16,000 generic impressions on Facebook and Twitter
@mhcc_ #suicideprevention #raiseHOPE
#308Conversations
• To date there have been approx. 45 events across Canada.
• #308Conversations will run from May 2014 to May 2015.
• We continue to encourage MP’s to host events, however we’ve also extended the invitation to other stakeholders.
• We’re inviting community groups and leaders to host their own
#308Conversations in the event that their MP is unable to do so.
• An ‘Event‐in‐a‐Box’ toolkit has released to help community leaders organize community conversations about suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.
• Available at:
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/308conversations
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Learn more ‐ #308Conversations
• Web:http://mentalhealthcommission.ca/308conversations
• Twitter: @MHCC_308 #308Conversations
• Email:[email protected]
• Telephone: 1 (613) 683‐3943
• MHCC Collaborative Space:
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/mhcc‐collaborative‐
spaces
National Collaborative for Suicide Prevention
• Steering Committee meets regularly to share information on our respective activities, identify and respond to emerging issues
• Partnerships and collaborations are evolving
• Gaps in information sharing and services have been identified
• Recognize the benefit of collaboration at the grassroots
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The NCSP wants to hear from you…!
• What would you find helpful?
• How can you help, what can you share?
• Where energies be focused in the next two years?
• What does success look like for the National Collaborative?
• What is the best way for you to receive information? Example – webinar, website, email, newsletter etc.?
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Looking forward…
We want to hear from you!
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Thank you
Contact:
Meg Schellenberg Knowledge Broker
Email: [email protected] Tel: 613‐683‐3739
Jenn Ward
Program Manager
Email: [email protected] Tel: 416‐995‐3820
Thank you
Contact us: [email protected] Visit: www.mentalhealthcommission.ca Follow us:
@mhcc_ #suicideprevention
