Author: sam

4th June, 2024

PDF: Crisis Centre of BC Welcomes National Suicide Prevention Action Plan

The Crisis Centre of BC applauds the announcement of the country’s first National Suicide Prevention Action Plan. This plan is a critical step forward in strengthening Canada’s response to suicide and improving crisis care.

“Suicide prevention is one part mental health services and three parts effective means prevention, a robust social safety net, and access to education and financial stability,” says Stacy Ashton, Executive Director of the Crisis Centre of BC. “This plan recognizes the importance of a comprehensive approach that includes improved data collection, better access to mental health supports and services, and investment in the social determinants of health.”

The Action Plan comes six months after the launch of Canada’s national 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline, and follows additional mental health investments announced in Budget 2024, including the Youth Mental Health Fund.

The Crisis Centre of BC looks forward to working with the government and other stakeholders in implementing this plan and ensuring these vital resources are effectively utilized.

About the Crisis Centre of BC

The Crisis Centre of BC is a leading provider of crisis intervention and suicide prevention services in British Columbia. The Centre operates 24/7 crisis lines offering barrier-free, non-judgemental, confidential support and follow-up, as well as education and training programs that promote mental wellness and equip schools, organizations and communities to assist people at risk of suicide.

310-6789 (no area code needed)
BC Mental Health Support Line

1-800-SUICIDE / 1-800-784-2433
BC Suicide Prevention and Intervention Line

9-8-8
National Suicide Crisis Helpline / Ligne d’aide en cas de crise de suicide

Media Requests

Jeffrey Preiss
Director, Development & Communications
jpreiss@crisiscentre.bc.ca

Stacy Ashton
Executive Director, Crisis Centre of BC
Chair, BC Crisis Line Network
sashton@crisiscentre.bc.ca

Our Community Learning and Engagement programs foster resilience and hope, and build capacity in individuals, organizations and communities. Partnering with post-secondary institutions is a growing part of what we do, and represents a powerful opportunity to intervene and make a real difference in the lives of students, faculty and their networks. 

Students in post-secondary institutions can face myriad challenges: the pressure of deadlines, social dynamics, financial issues – further exacerbated by being in a new and unfamiliar environment away from home. Challenges can be amplified for international students and newcomers who may be isolated and missing home.

In early 2022, we connected with University Canada West, which was facing low utilization of support services, despite a growing international student population and increasing staff workload.

Before our intervention:

• Staff turnover was high (80%). Staff felt overwhelmed and unequipped to manage student mental health concerns, including suicide ideation and crisis situations.
• Staff lacked confidence in discussing challenges with students and creating safety plans.

Partnering with UCW, our Community Learning and Engagement team set out to develop a comprehensive training program, focused on building staff and students’ resiliency and increasing their capacity to support each other. 

The partnership initially aimed to address the issue that staff were acting as “paraprofessionals”, providing mental health support but without the training they needed to do so effectively. Staff retention was low as they struggled to do the work they had been hired to do while also supporting students who were experiencing increasing stress and mental health crises. 

We focused on building psychological safety as a first principle in our approach. As the partnership moved into its second year, we tailored its content to address recognizing early signs of burnout and taking preventive steps to stop it from occurring. 

We have since developed service pillars to indicate various steps that students and staff are encouraged to take on their journey to become more proficient in taking care of their psychological health. We have fostered stronger support networks, created more psychological safety for students and staff, and strengthened their skill sets for crisis and suicide prevention work, allowing them to offer better support to each other.

Moving towards these early interventions and preventative approaches, we have seen staff retention increase from 20% to 80%. Staff feel better equipped to respond to their students’ needs and support them in creating safety plans and managing their mental health.

This partnership is a success story that continues to develop, based on the data and feedback we collect and the needs of those working at UCW. It is not difficult to imagine that these positive results went beyond those who took the training, extending to the external community of those who interact with the staff and students of UCW. By training students and staff to recognize the signs of burnout and mental health crises in themselves and others, we are creating an environment where everyone can feel more supported.

Media release: World Suicide Prevention Day – 2021