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The province is providing $35,000 to support the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention national conference, underway from today until Thursday in Brandon, Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross announced today.

 

“We know the work going on in Brandon this week will allow a wide range of stakeholders from across Canada and around the world to connect and explore best practices to reduce the incidence of suicide,” said Irvin-Ross. “These kinds of conferences are vital to sharing successes and learning more about what can be done to provide real hope and real help to people in need.”

 

The minister noted the investment builds on Manitoba’s youth suicide prevention strategy, Reclaiming Hope.  The strategy was introduced in the fall of 2008 to guide provincial investments to prevent the tragedy of youth suicide and suicide-related thoughts and behaviours.

 

Some of the community-based projects funded under the strategy include:

·         creating a youth crisis stabilization unit in Thompson with on-site treatment, a mobile crisis unit and a Telehealth unit to provide treatment for youth from remote communities and decrease the need for youth to fly south for intensive treatment;

·         expanding successful workshops and peer-support programs to schools in northern Manitoba through Teen Talk, a program of the Klinic Community Health Centre that provides health education to youth;

·         implementing Communities That Care, a program to help communities use new prevention techniques to help recruit leaders, identify suicide-related issues and plan next steps to address youth suicide; 

·         evaluating the success of the youth leadership training and summer camp program offered in Shamattawa in the summer of 2008 by the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre and expanding it to more northern communities;

·         expanding the Winnipeg Mobile Crisis team and resources for the enhancement of crisis stabilization services; and

·         developing an electronic flag on the child and family services computer system that will alert workers when a child or youth is at risk of suicide.

 

“We must keep reaching out to people in need and ensure they have access to help and supports to reduce the risk of suicide,” said Irvin-Ross.  “Investing in training and regional-based supports will help mental health-care providers help others.”

 

For more information on Reclaiming Hope, visit  www.gov.mb.ca/healthyliving/mh/hope.html.

 

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