Suicide. It’s the kind of topic that usually gets reserved for hushed tones, even while in private. It’s so painful that even the people whose lives are in jeopardy refuse to talk or get help. Experts say that this stigma is like a muzzle that many don’t know how to remove.
That’s one of the main reasons why it’s so astonishing that so many people, including several from St. Albert, came out en masse yesterday to march in the middle of the streets to talk and to remember. They all said suicide doesn’t have to be the way out of misery.
A few hundred people joined forces in solidarity but not silence as they took to downtown Edmonton to get the word out during the suicide awareness march. Dubbed Lift the Silence on Suicide, the ninth annual demonstration was put on by The Support Network, the local organization that offers not just kind ears to those who need to talk but also words of comfort and guidance.
Jackie Allen is the suicide awareness programs supervisor for the group. She said that when people hear the truth about suicide statistics, it’s shocking. According to figures from Statistics Canada, Alberta’s suicide rate is higher than the national average with an estimated 450 deaths in the province last year alone. This figure is astonishingly high considering that it far exceeds the number for traffic fatalities. Suicide is listed as the second leading cause of death for youths between 15 and 24.
The broader impact is much higher, she explained. It doesn’t take into account the number of attempted suicides but it also means there are more than 260,000 friends and family members who have to cope with the emotional aftermath, giving it the impact of an epidemic.
Allen said the best way to prevent suicides from happening is to simply raise awareness and get the conversation started. All too often, that conversation begins with the survivors still dealing with the loss of a loved one and they need help too.
“Because there is so much stigma, people feel very isolated and so [the march] is just to get the support of others. This event was started by a client of the suicide bereavement program who wanted to do something to prevent future suicides.”
If you need to talk to someone about the problems in your life that you just can’t deal with on your own, call the 24-hour Distress Line at 780-482-HELP (4357).
