National Suicide Prevention Week 2011 (Sep 4-10th, 2011)

Any suicide is sad in and of itself. When people are unable to emerge from the darkness that depression and other forms of mental illness submerges them in, and individuals decide to terminate their own life, it’s definitely as someone said, a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I have many friends who have experienced extremely severe bouts of depression and who have entertained suicidal thoughts.

I also have close friends who have lost a loved one to suicide. It’s thus extremely saddening and really unfortunately eery timing that Trey Pennington (a social media super star from South Carolina and great human being from every tribute I read online, and who was friends with some of my own social media friends) took his own life right around the beginning of National Suicide Prevention Week 2011. How I wish there had been someone with Trey at that moment, someone who could have helped him emerge from the profound darkness where he might have been trapped. How I wish someone could have helped everyone who has taken their own life (we’ve heard of some recent cases in the professional hockey field, like Rick Rypien).

This week marks National Suicide Prevention Week worldwide, ending on World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th, 2011).

World Suicide Prevention Day is held on September 10th each year. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented. Disseminating information, improving education and training, and decreasing stigmatization are important tasks in such an endeavour. The theme in 2011 is “Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies”.

The themes of the last two years of the World Suicide Prevention Day have focussed on suicide prevention in different cultures across the world. This year’s theme aims at raising awareness of the fact that all countries in the world are multicultural. Many countries harbour different minority groups, in the form of various indigenous and/or immigrant groups, refugees and/or asylum seekers. Some countries comprise many different ethnic groups due to artificial borders having been drawn by former colonial powers. This means that in all countries there are a variety of ethnic and religious groups living in the same society.

For the Canadian activities, please check this link. In Vancouver, the second-annual World Suicide Prevention Day is scheduled for Saturday, September 10th, 2011 in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St) at 12 pm. And if you know of someone (or you, yourself are suffering), know that you are alone. There is help out there.

Some resources if you know someone is suffering and/or considering suicide.

If you need immediate support, please contact 1-800-SUICIDE

Partners in support of World Suicide Prevention Day 2011:
- Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention
- Canadian Mental Health Association
- CHIMO Crisis Services
- The Child and Adolescent Response Team, Vancouver Coastal Health – Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of British Columbia
- The Josh Platzer Society for Teen Suicide Prevention and Awareness
- S.A.F.E.R. Suicide Attempt Follow-up Education and Research, Vancouver Coastal Health

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