The P.E.I. government has released a new suicide prevention strategy, which calls for actions including building suicide barriers on the Hillsborough bridge, increasing promotion of the Island Helpline, and establishing mobile crisis response units.
The strategy, released Friday afternoon, was created by the Department of Health and Wellness, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association.
The province said the release of the strategy, called The Building Blocks of Hope, follows a year of research, analysis, and consultations with Islanders, community groups and service providers.
"Suicide is a very complex issue and often there are many factors that are combined to create the hopelessness that leads to this tragic outcome," said Health and Wellness Minister Robert Mitchell in a written release. "Our approach to prevention must address these complexities."
65 action items
The strategy focuses on three overarching topics: hearing, helping, and healing. Those are further divided into six key areas of focus, and 65 "action items."
Some of those actions include:
- Modernizing policies related to harassment and bullying in schools and post-secondary institutions.
- Building barriers on the Hillsborough bridge.
- Improving tracking of suicides, attempts, and ideations.
- Supporting suicide education in schools.
The strategy recommends that a task force be created to work on implementing the recommendations.