By Erika Rolling

Suicide Prevention

New group program to reduce death by suicide starting in May

Apr 18, 2023 | 2:01 PM

The Resource Centre for Suicide Prevention says thanks to funding from the provincial government, it is offering a new four-week group-based pilot program for youth in the region experiencing suicidal thoughts. It will also offer for their caregivers.

Skills for Safer Living is a suicide intervention skills development group that will be held in both Grande Prairie and Grimshaw. It will give youth and young adults the skills to live more safely, even if suicidal thoughts continue.

Public Education and Outreach Director with the Resource Centre for Suicide Prevention, Tammy Munro says it’s intended for those between the ages of 12 and 24, with a concurrent group that runs at the same time for their caregivers or an adult in their life.

“That group focuses on very similar topics. It talks about how to provide support to that young person as well as how to kind of work through the stress and struggles that they might be experiencing as well.”

She notes there is a lot of pressure on the caregivers of youth struggling with suicide attempts and thoughts.

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“With caregivers, there’s a lot of guilt and shame that comes along with that, and we’re really helping to take it away because there aren’t things to be guilty or feeling shameful about, and how to provide that support or connect them to other services if they aren’t able to have those conversations.”

“It can be hard to think about staying safe and moving forward, so we want to focus on the immediate, short-term solution of staying safe for now while we figure out the underlying things that may be causing those thoughts of suicide.”

Munro says the groups will be co-facilitated by an allied health professional with a background in psychology or suicide intervention prevention and a facilitator with lived experience.

She says over the next two years the program will run bi-annually in both Grimshaw and Grande Prairie. There would be a maximum of ten youth per group, with a minimum of four.

The pilot project is Alberta-wide, running in four different communities, with partnership through the Centre for Suicide Prevention in Calgary.

Munro says the skills to be learned will consist of: the early warning signs of when they are not doing well and their intensity, how to manage suicidal thoughts and feelings in the moment, how to avoid emotional triggers, and the choices they have and how to pick a safe one.

“It really does save lives. If people are feeling like they can talk to somebody they are more likely to reach out, whereas if we feel like it’s taboo, uncomfortable, we don’t wanna talk about it… people are going to feel like maybe they are being a burden or feeling overwhelmed and they are not going to reach out for that support,” she notes on the upside of conversations about having suicidal thoughts.

The first group will run on Thursdays from 6:00-7:30 p.m. starting on May 4. To register or learn more about the program, contact Tammy Monro at info@sp-rc.ca, or by calling the office at 780-539-6680.