No matter where we come from suicide affects us all

In September 2005, the suicide of an 11-year-old girl galvanized the communities of Clearwater County to come together to find a way to change the lives of people feeling alone and hopeless. The girl was the ninth person in the area to take her own life in the space of six months.

During 2005, besides the nine completed suicides, there were 58 attempted suicides, the oldest being 87 and the youngest just nine years old. Suicide does not discriminate, the community had come to learn. It can affect people of all ages, economic brackets, cultures or genders.

Since an initial meeting, a number of suicide prevention workshops have been held in the area with representation from at least one and sometimes from all three of the First Nations communities of Bighorn, O'Chiese and Sunchild.

Spearheading the initiative has been Gerry Laslo, the human resource director of the Sunchild Band Administration. Process consultant is Roxane Snyder, CEO and founder of Interactions, a company that provides programs and services on personal and community Development. Snyder has volunteered her services as community facilitator to the Suicide Prevention Initiative.

Over a number of tightly scheduled subsequent workshops filled with government representatives, service providers and individuals from the community, a blueprint was created for the development of a community-based Suicide Prevention Strategy.

"The strategy reflects the shared understanding of what may lead people to contemplate, attempt or complete suicide," said Snyder. "It is the community's ultimate desire to address the many social issues linked to these root causes."

The fundamental core values driving the suicide prevention initiative are that it is community-driven and focused on fostering a community-based approach. It is an inclusive process open to participation by anyone within the community. It is driven by compassion by fostering a caring and supportive environment. It honors cultural diversity and is premised that while different communities may need slightly different solutions, everyone is affected in a similar manner by suicide.

The impact of a suicide in one community often impacts on the lives of people across communities. Therefore, the initiative works at pulling people together for mutual benefit, with the view of implementing an initiative developed through shared learning and open dialogue.

On Feb. 17, Chief Stanley Lagrelle if the Sunchild First Nation, Laslo and Snyder presented the Rocky Mountain House and Area Suicide Prevention Strategy to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Ottawa.

Laslo said one of the exciting things about their presentation was they were given a half an hour rather than the 15 minutes other representatives were allowed. Laslo said they told the assembly the goal of their presentation was for the AFN to consider using the Rocky Mountain House Prevention Initiative as a national template for suicide prevention. After their initial presentation, Laslo said they were approached by AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine and given another opportunity to provide a presentation explaining why the strategy should be used.

Lagrelle said "All of the communities need to pull together because suicide and the effect of suicide can no longer be ignored. We have all been silent too long."

In April 2006, Sunchild First Nation hosted a suicide prevention workshop with more than 40 people taking part in the five-and-a-half-hour event, while another two dozen other people stopped by during the course of the day.

Lagrelle said he was extremely pleased with the turnout and the fact there was representation from so many important groups and facets of the community. Among the participants were a number of councillors from Rocky Mountain House town council, including Mayor Jim Bague. There were council members from Clearwater County and representatives from the Yellowhead Tribal Council, as well as Bighhorn and O'Chiese First Nations. There were also representatives from various Rocky Mountain community groupsm such as the RCMP, mental health, victims services, seniors services and school board trustees.

Over the past year, there have been a number of community events, including the Sunchild Powow, that have furthered the motto of the Suicide Prevention Initiative of "Communities Celebrating Life." In addition, because of the communities' openness in talking about suicide, coupled with intense media coverage and RCMP support, the impact of the initiative has been felt across the county.

From April to October 2006 there was one suicide in the vounty. During the same period in 2005, there were six completed suicides. As well, the number of attempts has gone down considerably. Even counting verbal threats with no attempt, the number from April to October 2006 was 39 attempts/threats. In the same period during 2005 there had already been 58 attempts/treats of suicide.

A dedicated core of people from Sunchild and other Clearwater County communities are in the process of developing a formal structure for suicide prevention. The aim is to have a completed proposal developed by February so that it can be submitted in the hopes of securing provincial funding so the next phase of the Suicide Prevention Initiative Strategy can be implemented by April 2007.