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Table of Contents

    About Us

    Centre for Suicide Prevention is an education centre, a centre of excellence, based in Calgary, Alberta. We are a branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

    We are educators. For 40 years, we’ve been equipping Canadians with the information, knowledge and skills necessary to respond to people considering suicide.

    We educate online, in print, and interactively. Our library of over 50,000 suicide-specific items, the largest English-language collection of its kind, informs the work we do.

    Our Mission

    We educate to save lives through suicide prevention by equipping people with the knowledge and skills to respond to those considering suicide.

    Our Vision

    Mentally healthy people in a healthy society.

    CSP is accredited by Imagine Canada

    Timeline

    We’ve been educating for life since 1981 – first as two separate yet interdependent programs: the Suicide Information and Education Centre (SIEC) and Suicide Prevention Training Programs (SPTP).

    Centre for Suicide Prevention was incorporated in 2005. Learn more about our roots and our contribution to suicide prevention below.

    1973
    Government of Alberta (GoA) commissions University of Lethbridge to undertake Task Force on Highway Accidents.
    1974
    Task Force on Highway Accidents hypothesizes that many single-car fatalities are suicide motivated. GoA creates Task Force on Suicides to investigate, led by University of Lethbridge sociologist Menno Boldt.
    1976
    Task Force on Suicides releases the Boldt Report outlining five themes of recommendations.
    1978
    GoA takes Boldt’s advice and appoints the first provincial suicidologist, Dr. Mark Solomon, to develop an Alberta model of suicide prevention. He reports directly to the Minister of Social Services and Community Health.
    1980
    Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) - Calgary launches a 5-year task force on suicide with 3 priorities: public education and awareness, training for frontline workers, and survivor support. This was later coined the Alberta Model.
    1981
    A Ministerial Order establishes a citizen committee, Suicide Prevention Provincial Advisory Committee, to aid the provincial suicidologist and CMHACalgary, led by visionary Executive Director Ron LaJeunesse, to implement the Alberta Model. GoA provides start-up funding to CMHA-Calgary for Suicide Information and Education Centre (SIEC), to collect and disseminate suicide research.
    1982
    GoA funds CMHA-Calgary to develop Suicide Prevention and Training Programs (SPTP) as SIEC team of investigators advocates for an educational approach to suicide prevention, based on early evidence that people considering suicide reach out to friends and family who in turn need to be skilled responders. They begin to develop the world’s first suicide intervention workshop. Together, SIEC and SPTP form what is known today as Centre for Suicide Prevention.
    1983
    SIEC/SPTP team launches the Foundation Workshop, the first iteration of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and pilots it in Calgary. GoA funds workshop development with the goal of blanketing the province with suicide intervention training consistent in philosophy and approach to promote continuity of care.
    1984
    SIEC and SPTP province-wide with administrative responsibility from CMHA-Calgary CMHA-Alberta. Bentley replaces Sim as the Director SIEC/SPTP.
    1986
    Gerry Harrington replaces Kathy Bentley as SIEC/ SPTP Director. SPTP hosts its 100th workshop.
    1987
    SIEC surpasses 10,000 records in the library.
    1988
    SPTP launches a Suicide Bereavement Workshop for Caregivers.
    1989
    SPTP develops and distributes a Youth Suicide Awareness Package.
    1991
    SPTP develops and pilots a workshop for caregivers of older adults.
    1994
    Carmelle Hunka, current Board President, joins SIEC/SPTP Board of Directors. SIEC surpasses 20,000 records in the library.
    1995
    SPTP hosts its 1000th workshop, educating 20,000+ workshop participants.
    1998
    SPTP develops and launches an Adolescent Suicide Prevention workshop, a precursor to Straight Talk. Suicide Bereavement workshop is re-evaluated and re-launched as Counselling the Bereaved workshop.
    2001
    Diane Yackel replaces Gerry Harrington as the SIEC/SPTP Executive Director. SPTP hosts its 2000th workshop.
    2002
    Centre for Suicide Prevention (CSP) is formed with the coming together of SIEC and SPTP. CSP surpasses 30,000 records in the library.
    2004
    CSP testifies before the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Human Rights in the development of Senator Michael Kirby’s report Out of the Shadows at Last aimed at improving mental health services in Canada.
    2005
    CSP incorporates as a separate legal entity as a branch of CMHA in Alberta. Michael Power, current Board member, joins CSP’s Board of Directors. CSP develops a preliminary version of the Tattered Teddies: Preventing suicide in children workshop and begins offering LivingWorks’ safeTALK workshop. CSP hosts its 3000th workshop.
    2006
    Bill Bone, current Board member, joins CSP’s Board of Directors.
    2008
    CSP launches Straight Talk: Preventing suicide in youth workshop, a re-developed version of the Tattered Teddies workshop and the Tattered Teddies Handbook.
    2009
    CSP launches River of Life: Indigenous Youth Suicide Prevention workshop. CSP surpasses 40,000 records in the library and hosts its 4000th workshop.
    2010
    Dave Dart, current Board Secretary-Treasurer, joins CSP’s Board of Directors.
    2011
    CSP publishes first freely available print resource focused on educating the general public: Men and Suicide: A High-Risk Population?
    2012
    CSP testifies to the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Human Rights regarding cyberbullying and its relationship to suicide. CSP hosts 5000+ workshops, educating over 10,000 participants.
    2014
    CSP launches Walk With Me: Indigenous Suicide Bereavement Workshop; Mara Grunau replaces Diane Yackel as CSP’s Executive Director.
    2015
    CSP launches Little Cub: Preventing suicide in Indigenous children workshop. CSP hosts its 6000th workshop.
    2018
    CSP hosts first annual Run for Life, an event that remembers those we’ve lost to suicide, and raises awareness for suicide prevention.
    2019
    CSP and CMHA-Edmonton co-host the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention 30th annual national conference in Edmonton with the theme of Reconciliation: Honouring the other. CSP and GoA, along with Knowledge Keepers across Alberta, develop and launch the resource: Community-led life promotion plans for Indigenous youth and communities. Jim Campbell joins CSP’s Board of Directors. CSP hosts its 8000th workshop.
    2020
    CSP launches the Buddy Up communications campaign for men’s suicide prevention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual workshops are offered for the first time, and updates are made to workshops to accommodate this new delivery.
    2021
    CSP redevelops Straight Talk and Tattered Teddies Workshops, relaunching them as Looking Forward and Small Talk, respectively; River of Life and Little Cub workshops are redeveloped with a focus on reconciliation. CSP commemorates its 40th anniversary. To date, nearly 9000 workshops have been facilitated and close to 50,000 library items have been collected. Since the inception of workshops, CSP has offered the equivalent of one workshop every business day.
    2022
    Dr. Vincent Agyapong joins CSP's Board of Directors.
    Buddy Up Buddy Up

    Buddy Up

    Buddy Up is a suicide prevention public awareness campaign by men, for men.

    Together to Live Together to Live

    Together to Live

    Together to Live is a guide for preventing suicide in your community.

    Our Blog

    Check out what we’ve been up to lately and find all the latest news and research roundups on our blog.