April 20, 2009 - Today, a diverse group of Thunder Bay leaders, policy-makers, youth, and service providers officially launched a ground-breaking action plan to respond to the issue of youth suicide.

A significant part of this community plan is the acute response fan-out protocol which has been developed for use in the school systems. In the aftermath of a youth suicide, service agencies involved in this protocol can be mobilized by the school in need.  These community service agencies will provide support to students and family members as a complement to existing school resources.

“We’ve seen from the past that a youth suicide in our community can have a devastating ripple effect,” says Janine Black, Director of Health Promotion at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.  “Youth and families need support at times of crisis and this protocol has been put in place to offer assistance at a time when they need it the most.”

With a focus on collaboration and increasing our community’s capacity to respond to youth suicide, a Memorandum of Agreement was officially signed by each of the contributing agencies in the Task Force today.  This demonstrates the collective commitment to sharing resources and expertise in the prevention and effective response to youth suicide in our community.  It also establishes the protocol as part of the mandate for each partner offering and receiving services and will ensure sustainable partnerships over time.

“Each life is sacred and should be honoured as the precious gift the Creator intended it to be,” says Melanie Tibishkogijig of Anishnawbe Mushkiki.  “The overwhelming pain of a suicide affects the whole community and as a community we need to walk together in the Healing Journey.” 

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24.  Among Aboriginal youth aged 10 to 19 years, the suicide rate is five to six times higher than among their non-Aboriginal peers. 

With the completion of the fan-out protocol, the focus of work now turns to the prevention of youth suicide. Future plans for this project include:

·         Developing prevention strategies in consultation with youth

·         Launching a community-wide social marketing awareness campaign

·         Promoting helpful Internet websites  

This project has been funded by the Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health out of Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

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