Suicide Prevention in Norfolk

Suicide seems to have become quite visible in our community over the past few years, and help is available to people considering this desperate act.

Experts believe over 4000 lives are lost to suicide in Canada each year, with over 200 attempted suicides per day in Ontario alone. As a community, Norfolk County is above the provincial average for incidence of suicide attempts. What can we do about it?

Susan Roach M.S.W. (left in picture) and Norfolk Rotaractors Jason Schram and Lisa Crowder are certainly doing their part in our community.

Susan Roach is an expert, in many respects. With a post-graduate degree in social work, and as Manager of the Achieve Mental Health Wellness & Recovery Centre, Susan has the knowledge and first-hand experience working with people who have a mental health illness. She also has lived experience, having attempted suicide 40 times before discovering her own path to recovery.

Susan urged us to be aware of the signs of mental illness and to take action when we see a signal. Over 80% of the people who attempt suicide have displayed signs, but often these signs go unnoticed or are ignored. The first person approached may be the critical person to help. “You don’t need to do an intervention – just help them find the help they need,” we were told. When we discover someone is at risk, we should acknowledge the pain experienced, and offer to assist that person to get help.

Hope is so important to people considering a suicide attempt. We all need hope for the future, and we all need to believe that others care about us. By ignoring people who are crying out for help, we reinforce what they believe about themselves – that nobody does care about them, and their life is worthless.

Help is available in our community. Community Addictions and Mental Health Services of Haldimand and Norfolk provides a wide range of clinical services including: counselling, access to psychiatric professionals, a crisis hotline, and the Achieve Mental Health Wellness and Recovery Centre. Other organizations offer complementary mental health services, including the Canadian Mental Health Association and Able Enterprises.

For their part in suicide prevention, Norfolk Rotaract created the Chelsea Addison Memorial Scholarship. Chelsea took her own life at 26 years of age, an event that made a lasting impact on Jason Schram and other friends in the Port Dover area. With $10,000 raised to date, Rotaract will present the first scholarship in 2016 to a Norfolk County resident who is entering the first year of a post-secondary program of studies. Applicants must be entering a program to prepare them for work in a mental health field, or must have been directly affected by a mental illness. Applications are open now for the Chelsea Addison Memorial Scholarship.