Suicide Prevention Week

Talking about suicide saves live is the theme of the 29th Suicide Prevention Week, held on February 3 to 9, 2019.

Objectives

Raise awareness about the scope and complexity of the problem and ways of reducing it, and engage the public and decision makers;
Improve the promotion of available help and resources, including the 1‑866‑APPELLE hotline;
Normalize asking for help, particularly among men, who are less likely to seek help and have higher suicide rates;
Encourage talking about suicide openly and safely. Provide loved ones, people in distress, and the public as well as service providers with guidance on safe ways of discussing it.

Theme: TALKING ABOUT SUICIDE SAVES LIVES

The 29th edition of Suicide Prevention Week focuses on a critical component of prevention: speaking up. To reduce suicide rates, it is important to open up both a one‑on‑one and a collective dialogue on the topic. Since suicide already receives extensive media coverage and features prominently in fiction and on social networks, the AQPS believes that it is important to answer the questions that many Quebecers have and offer guidance on how to talk about it.

Whether it is to express distress or find comfort, or ask a loved one who is not doing well if there is any way you can help them and if they are thinking about suicide, or whether it is to raise awareness in the community, there are words you can use to talk about suicide in a preventive and safe way. There are also ways to learn how to listen. Thus, speaking up not only has many benefits, but also makes for a stronger safety net.

Ways to mark the event

Want to help out with prevention? There are simple things you can do:

Visit commentparlerdusuicide.com to find out how to talk about suicide and its prevention;
Hand out “You’re important to me” pins to the people around you to let them know how much they mean to you;
Share prevention messages and publications from the “Talking About Suicide Saves Lives” campaign on your social networks with the hashtag #TalkingAboutSuicide;
Put up awareness posters and hand out bookmarks to promote prevention messages and actions as well as resources, including the Quebec suicide prevention hotline at 1‑866‑APPELLE (277‑3553) and the services of suicide prevention centres;
Organize an awareness activity or take part to one.
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Consult the calendar of events;
Sign and ask others to sign the suicide prevention declaration which has already been signed by more than 50,000 people.