Crisis Centre’s 44th Annual General Meeting, May 1st, 2013, welcomed 50+ staff, Board members, volunteers, and community partners – including a heartwarming, inspiring, and powerful presentation by Volunteer Alumnus, Aman Sharma. Aman recounted his amazing journey of “Little Steps” – from the shock of his brother’s suicide, to a long battle with mental illness, depression, and psychosis, to his recovery and the path he took to give back to others through volunteering.

We welcome you to read his full story here: Little Steps

Suitable for anyone in contact with individuals at potential risk for suicide, this workshop will provide participants with the skills needed to successfully intervene on behalf of those at risk.

The workshop will be facilitated by Lu Ripley and Akhila Blaise.

Please note that participation in the two complete workshop days is required.

Click here for a downloadable poster, and here for the workshop registration information (also available in PDF format here).

(From left) Ian Ross, Executive Director of the Crisis Centre and Joe Grech, SVP National Customer Solutions Delivery of TELUS

The Crisis Centre was thrilled to receive a generous donation of $16,500 from TELUS in May 2013. The funding from TELUS will go directly to our Youth Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Program. A big thanks to TELUS for their ongoing support over the years! Their generosity has allowed us to expand our capacity to serve a greater number of youth in our communities.

The Youth Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Program provides hope, education & training for at-risk youth. For further information about this program, particularly Youth Community Outreach and YouthInBC.com, please click on these links:

• http://www.crisiscentre.bc.ca/programs-services/community-education/
• http://youthinbc.com/

http://media.wix.com/ugd//eaee26_3c3d4062f890e6af00b4e6b3291bec78.pdf

March 28^th, 2013 – The Crisis Centre was honoured to receive a generous donation of $15,000 from Loyal Protestant Association in March 2013. The funding from Loyal Protestant Association will go directly to YouthInBC.com programs and services. We would like to extend our appreciation and gratitude to Loyal Protestant Association for their ongoing support over the years.

In 2012, YouthInBC.com provided much-needed emotional support to 61,909 youth located in urban and rural communities across the province. This year, we are planning on expanding the capacity for an increased level of service and we could not do this without the support of our donors.

For further information about our YouthInBC.com programs and services, please visit: http://www.youthinbc.com.

Panel guests included Aman Sharma, Community Education Volunteer for the Crisis Centre, Jude Platzer, founder of The Josh Platzer Society for Teen Suicide Prevention and Awareness, Richard Kramer, Director of Distress Services for the Crisis Centre, Lu Ripley, Director of Community Education for the Crisis Centre, Dammy Albach of Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention (CASP) and Coordinator of Suicide Attempt Follow-up Education and Research (S.A.F.E.R.), Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Representative for Children and Youth for the Province of BC, and Stephanie Cadieux, Minister for Children and Family Development.

The forum took place at the Segal Graduate School of Business and focused on key outcomes to encourage people to get help and raise awareness of suicide prevention and intervention resources in the community. We would like to sincerely thank the CKNW team – and our panelists – for their contribution in making this forum a great success.

Thank you to those who participated in our World Suicide Prevention Day 2012 virtual event via our official Crisis Centre Facebook page!

We are also honoured to be one of the top five BC organizations recognized by Donner Awards as the best-managed non-profit social service agency nationwide (Business in Vancouver – www.biv.com). Over the span of the last 12 years, the Crisis Centre has been a winner, a finalist or honourable mention of Donner Awards, the largest and most prestigious non-profit recognition program in Canada.

The Crisis Centre is honoured to be the recipient of $7,026 from the Memory Remains Fundraiser – an event held on June 23rd, 2012 at the Fox and Fiddle Restaurant in Langley, organized by Kylee and Jeff Lapierre and their family in memory of Trevor Lapierre. With approximately 250 people in attendance, along with the Canucks’ Mason Raymond, the evening was a great success. Kylee and Jeff Lapierre, the brother and sister-in-law of Trevor, talked about the importance of suicide awareness and prevention – and how the Crisis Centre’s programs and services are a lifeline for people in distress.

About two years ago, the Lapierre family lost Trevor – a bright, young man who was struggling with depression. It is with great passion and dedication that the Lapierre’s decided to host a fundraiser to give back to people, like Trevor, who are in need of support in their darkest hours. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go directly to the Crisis Centre’s Youth Suicide Prevention Programs, which empower young people with the skills and tools to help themselves, and their peers to cope with stress and deal with crisis.

For further information about the Crisis Centre’s programs and services, please visit http://www.crisiscentre.bc.ca

Thank you to our prize donors for their generous support! And thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for coming out and making this such a fun evening.

Please click here to check out our photo gallery!