A new suicide prevention project is launching on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula after a dramatic spike in suicides in the region.
Beginning now and rolling out over the next five years, the Roots of Hope community suicide prevention project aims to create public awareness about mental health and supports, train health care professionals in the area, and offer services like crisis lines and support groups to people who need them.
Health Minister John Haggie said it is the stigma surrounding suicide that prevents people from seeking help. (CBC)
"It is the stigma surrounding suicide that keeps people from seeking help. Everyone has a role to play in removing that stigma and this is why we must keep talking about it," said Health Minister John Haggie in a government release sent Monday.
'It is the stigma surrounding suicide that keeps people from seeking help.' - John Haggie
The project is a partnership between the Newfoundland and Labrador government, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Eastern Health and a community coalition from the Burin Peninsula.
The provincial government is contributing $1.98 million to the project, according to the release.
The project is part of a national suicide prevention initiative, the release said, to which Newfoundland and Labrador is the first province to sign on.
6 suicides in 2 years
In the past two years, the town of Grand Bank has lost six people to suicide.
- Suicides in Grand Bank spark call for rural mental health services
- Talk about it: 1st step to end stigma and prevent suicide on Burin Peninsula
Two sisters who each lost their husbands to suicide, Valerie Peach and Natalie Randell, spoke out about their experiences, telling CBC News that the region needed more services and supports, not just for people struggling with mental health issues, but for families affected by suicide and by mental illness.
"We’ve always been close, but we're even closer now because of this," said Valerie Peach, left, about her sister, Natalie Randell, right. (Sherry Vivian/CBC)
"We've watched so many people suffer," Peach told CBC News in an interview in November 2017.
"We have spent more time at the funeral home in this past year than I have in my entire life."
