By Colin McGregor
Québec’s Suicide Prevention Week is January 30th to February 5th.
In Québec, three times more people take their own lives than die in road accidents. That’s 3 suicides a day. As well, the highest suicide rates are among men between the ages of 45 and 64 years old, who are also the least likely to seek help.
This year’s theme is: “Talking about suicide saves lives.” The Québec National Crisis Line is open 24/7 at 1-866-APPELLE (277-3553). They offer services in English and in French. If you or anyone you know is in distress, please don’t hesitate to call that hotline or any of the numerous other crisis hotlines available.
The Canada Suicide Prevention Service 24-Hour Crisis Line is also available 24/7 at 1-833-456-456. In Montreal, there’s Suicide Action Montréal.
On the Internet, click on this link to go to howtotalkaboutsuicide.com from the Association québécoise de prévention du suicide.
The Quebec Suicide Prevention Handbook by Raymond Viger and Colin McGregor is an excellent guide for intervenors to use in the field, and interesting for anyone concerned with this topic. Again, the advice is to talk about suicidal thoughts, get them out in the open, to prevent the final irredeemable act. Suicides rarely happen without prior warning signs: learn to find them to avoid a tragedy. The book is available on Kindle, Kobo and Google Play Books, among other portals, or in print from editionstnt.com.
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