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Suicide Prevention

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Suicide Prevention

WE DO NOT PROVIDE CRISIS SERVICES

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 9-1-1.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8. Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline.

Suicide in Simcoe Muskoka

Suicide is a complex and preventable public health issue, that affects Canadians of all ages, sexes, genders, ethnicities, income levels, and regions. Suicide is a leading cause of death among Simcoe Muskoka residents. The rate of deaths from suicide is significantly lower among youth (10 - 19) compared to adults, and among females. Males 45 to 64 years of age experience the highest rates of suicide in Simcoe Muskoka. Males in Simcoe Muskoka die by suicide, more than three times as often than females.

Source: Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit HealthSTATS

We:

Work with Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council to increase awareness of resources and supports on suicide.
Network with provincial and national organizations with shared missions and values.

Provide access to data and resources for community stakeholders.

What Matters to Your Health

Everyone can develop skills to prevent suicide by participating in training opportunities. Know the signs of suicide ideation in others and feel confident to ask, “Are you thinking about suicide?”

Know about resources like 9-8-8 to call if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide.

Mental health supports for children

Mental health supports for adults

RISK

While there is no single cause that explains or predicts suicide, there are a combination of risk and protective factors associated with suicide, such as:

physical health
personal issues and loss
childhood abuse and neglect
exposure to trauma (personal, occupational, intergenerational etc.)
family history of suicide
prior suicide attempt
alcohol and/or substance use
access to lethal means
mental illness

Source: Adapted from the Government of Canada’s Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention, 2020

PROTECTIVE

sense of cultural identity
sense of meaning and reason for life
social support networks
feeling connected to community
access to appropriate health care

Source: Adapted from the National Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2024-2027

Effective suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach that works across a continuum. This includes:

building protective factors and reducing risk factors (prevention)
responding to someone with suicidal thoughts and/or behaviours (intervention)
supporting those impacted by a loss or experience of suicide (postvention)

Suicide prevention requires a collaborative approach that brings together all levels of government, organizations, local communities, and individuals.

Source: Adapted from the National Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2024-2027

The health unit works in partnership with local community organizations and individuals in an effort to prevent suicides in our communities.

Suicide prevention from an Indigenous perspective is a positive, holistic, and strengths-based approach, called ‘life promotion’. This changes the dialogue from illness into one of wellness. In the Simcoe Muskoka region, the developers of the Feather Carriers: Leadership for Life Promotion have used a cultural approach to draw on Indigenous concepts of leadership for protection and promotion of community health and well-being.

A core concept of what the Feather Carriers is about is called The Miikaans Teachings. The Miikans Teaching is an Anishnaabe understanding about the whole development of the human before, during and after life. Recordings of the Miikaans Teaching by Elder John Rice, an honoured Feather Carrier from Wasauksing First Nation, are available on the Wise Practices website.

Source: Adapted from the Feather Carriers Leadership for Life Promotion, 2023

Feather Carriers: Leadership for Life Promotion

Society uses many terms that lack compassion and empathy when it comes to suicide. Whether discussing suicide with a group of friends, supporting someone with lived experience or writing an article as a journalist, the following terms are recommended:

People-First Language (person who has died by suicide)
Safe Language (died by suicide/death by suicide or attempted suicide)
Safe Messaging (neutral, life-affirming, convey hope and healing)

Source: Adapted from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Language Matters, 2018

Need more? Check out the following resources:

Public Health Agency of Canada: LANGUAGE MATTERS
Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP): GUIDELINES FOR MEDIA
Jack.org: HOW TO TELL A STORY SAFELY
The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health: WORDS MATTER

Talking about suicide can prevent suicide. Zero Suicide Alliance provides a free online 20-minute training tool that will provide education on:

How to spot suicide warning signs
How to have a conversation with someone you’re worried about
Where to signpost to for further support
Suicide is preventable

Zero Suicide Training

For more individual and organization training options, see “Other resources”.

Working aged adults make up 70% of all suicide deaths in Canada. Since employed Canadians spend more than half of their waking hours in the workplace, workplaces are a key environment to provide suicide prevention strategies and improve mental health. Workplace mental health strategies that include policies and training about suicide can increase the ability to provide suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention education and support while decreasing negative factors that can exacerbate poor mental health.

Source: Adapted from the Canadian Mental Health Association and Centre for Suicide Prevention’s Workplace and Suicide Prevention Toolkit, 2017