The 10th annual Soles Remembering Souls Walk will be held in Nanaimo on Saturday, September 10, 2016, with music, personal stories of hope, healing and support for survivors of suicide loss
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death
In Canada suicide is one of the top ten leading causes of death, with rates increasing over the past 60 years.
In 2012, suicide is ranked as the 9th leading cause of death in Canada. [source: suicideprevention.ca]
Today in Canada approximately 11 people will end their lives by suicide. In addition, approximately 210 others will attempt to end their lives by suicide today. For each death by suicide it has been estimated that the lives of 7-10 bereaved ‘Survivors” are profoundly affected. This means that today in Canada 77-110 people will become newly bereaved by suicide. To be certain, suicide is a critical public health issue in Canada. [source: suicideprevention.ca]
According to Statistics Canada there were 3,926 suicides in the year 2012. Males were three times more likely to die by suicide than females. This much higher rate of suicide for men compared to women has been a trend consistent over time in Canada. — SuicidePrevention.ca
Zero Suicide
A diverse group of 50 peer leaders, government policy makers, and healthcare providers from 13 countries convened in Atlanta and created “Zero Suicide in Healthcare International Declaration” (March 2016).
What Does “Zero Suicide” Mean? Stated quite simply, Zero Suicide reflects a commitment by healthcare leaders to strive to make suicide a “never event” so that not one person dies alone and in despair.
To achieve this ambitious goal, there is a just culture where caring, competent, and confident staff are supported to continuously improve and learn together. People are actively engaged and supported to talk about suicide and despair. They are also supported to rediscover hope and find ways to survive, with a continuous eye to re-engagement with and contribution to the communities in which they may live, work, and play for a lifetime.
What It Does Not Mean: Zero Suicide is not a zero tolerance approach, as there is already a significant burden felt by many clinical professionals related to suicide. Furthermore, it doesn’t mean that people that die by suicide are “bad” or that healthcare providers should be ashamed when one of their patients dies by suicide. In sum, it means that together we will do everything we can to bring the number of deaths by suicide to zero. [source: zerosuicide.com]
Soles Remembering Souls Walk — September 10, 2016
Here in Nanaimo, in recognition of World Suicide Prevention Day, Vancouver Island Crisis Society will hold its 10th annual Soles Remembering Souls Walk on Saturday, September 10, 2016.
Soles Remembering Souls includes a walk of silent remembrance around the waterfront at Maffeo Sutton Park, and participants bring a new pair of shoes and/or socks that will be donated locally to those in need. The event includes music by Patrick Aleck, Kasumi Robinson, Raymond Selgado, and Sirreal, as well as personal stories of hope, healing and support for survivors of suicide loss. As part of their community commitment to healing, Mambo Pizza will be providing pizza snacks.
The Crisis Society invites all to come and join them on Saturday, September 10th at the Waterfront Gazebo from 4 pm to 6 pm. For information, please contact Matt Dunae at Mattd@vicrisis.ca
We speak with Matt Dunae, community education trainer at Vancouver Island Crisis Society.
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audio | #solesrememberingsouls SEPT.10th @IASPinfo #Nanaimo #suicidesurvivors @sirrealtalk | https://t.co/ztBAl4ZSYs pic.twitter.com/JhhGKkjha8
— People First Radio (@peoplefirstrad) September 4, 2016
