‘ASIST’ helps identify the risk of suicide
There are around 3,500 suicides in Canada every year and for every death, there are an estimated 20 to 25 suicide attempts. These are the statistics staff at the Mamawetan Health Region hope to change by training community members in suicide intervention.
Executive Director David Watts said the pattern of self harm is a problem.
“What we tend to find is if there’s one youth suicide, it’s almost a domino effect where many people in the family, close friends in school, tend to follow suit and attempt some kind of self-harm,” he said.
He said the region could benefit from more psychiatric care, but staff at the region has been doing its best to train community members with the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) program.