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Suicide Prevention

What is the issue?

Suicide is one of the top 10 causes of death in Canada. It’s a serious public health problem with lasting, harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities.

Evidence has indicated that one of the most common risk factors for suicide is a diagnosis of a mental health problem or illness. Fortunately, programs and strategies are available that can make a difference.

What are we doing?

As part of our ongoing commitment to life promotion and suicide prevention, we have created a range of evidence-based resources.

Roots of Hope Icon

Roots of Hope 
A Community-led Suicide Prevention Project, Roots of Hope builds on community expertise to implement suicide interventions tailored to local contexts. Through this project, we are building an evidence base that includes best practices, guidelines, and tools to support the development of a suicide prevention model across the country.

#ShareHope

Using the hashtag #ShareHope allows Canadians to share messages of hope and resilience via Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Not on social media? Click to add a post directly to our #ShareHope wall.

Learning Modules

Suicide: Facing the Difficult Topic Together
A free course designed to equip health care providers with the skills and confidence to have conversations with patients about suicide (accredited for continuing professional development). Developed by the MHCC, in partnership with the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) and HealthCareCAN.

Toolkits

  • Suicide Prevention Toolkits
    Developed by the MHCC, in collaboration with the CASP, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and an advisory committee of people with lived experience related to suicide, these toolkits offer a repository of resources to support people who have been impacted by suicide.
  • Suicide Risk Assessment Toolkit: A Resource for Healthcare Workers and Organizations
    Developed in collaboration with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, provides a high-level overview of what health-care workers and organization need to consider when using suicide risk assessment tools. It also highlights and describes a range of available tools.

Webinars

A repository of webinars on suicide prevention, life promotion, intervention, and the community response to suicide (postvention).

Fact sheets

Developped through a partnership with us and the Centre for Suicide Prevetion, these fact sheets provide information on suicide and

Research

Safe Messaging and Conversations

  • Mindset: Reporting on Mental Health
    This field guide, developed by the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, is designed to help media professionals write more complete stories and avoid contributing to mental health stigma. Among a range of updates in the third edition (2020) is guidance on creating more nuanced accounts related to suicide.

Resources

Learn more about understanding and reducing suicide risk using the resources below.

Approximately 4,500 deaths by suicide occur in Canada every year. Data exist to explain differences between sexes and age groups regarding suicide patterns; however, our understanding of the specific experiences…

The National Community of Practice (NCoP) brings Roots of Hope communities together to engage in peer to peer support and connect representatives, researchers, regional stakeholders, and people with lived experience…

Roots of Hope is a community-led model that supports populations across Canada to reduce the impact of suicide in their local contexts. The model builds on community expertise to implement…

Suicide Postvention Resources for Canadian Communities, based on our own environmental scan, summarizes over 35 different resources and includes related links and descriptions.

THE SOOKE EARLY ADOPTER COMMUNITY The Sooke-West Shore region of Vancouver Island includes a collection of municipalities just outside Victoria. Being a bit more affordable than Victoria proper, it often…

THE COMMUNITY OF BURIN PENINSULA The Burin Peninsula, an area that stretches southwest from the main island for some 130 km, has a population of about 19,000, spread across several…

THE WELLINGTON COUNTY COMMUNITY Waterloo Region: Wellington County: COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS To minimize potential risks following a suicide death, the Roots of Hope community in Wellington County has focused…

THE WINDSOR-ESSEX COMMUNITY Windsor and Essex County has a population of more than 420,000 across seven municipalities. Windsor itself, with about 230,000 residents, is home to Canada’s busiest border crossing…

THE MEADOW LAKE AND AREA COMMUNITY While the City of Meadow Lake has a population of around 5,400, our Roots of Hope project serves the rural residents of 11 surrounding…