BONNYVILLE – A national suicide prevention hotline is in the process of becoming a reality and has received local support.
Town of Bonnyville council passed a motion during the March 23 regular meeting to support a request from Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs about the implementation of a Canada-wide three-digit suicide prevention hotline.
According to Stubbs, a motion introduced by Conservative MP Todd Doherty was passed on Dec. 11 in the House of Commons to bring a national three-digit suicide prevention hotline to Canada.
“The past year has been a challenging year,” Stubbs said in a letter to the municipality. “Lives and livelihoods have been lost. We have begun to see the devastating impacts that COVID-19 has had, through isolation, on the mental health of Canadians. The rates of suicide continue to rise. As elected officials and leaders, especially during this period of difficulty as a nation, Canadians are counting on all of us to make a difference.”
Town council recognized the significance of the crisis line to ensure barriers are removed when someone is in a crisis requiring help.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for suicide prevention services by 200 per cent,” stressed Coun. Chad Colbourne when reading the motion. “Whereas existing suicide prevention hotlines require the user to remember a 10-digit number and to go through directories or to be placed on hold.”
The United States also has a similar crisis line that was put into place in 2020, and all telephone providers are required to activate the number by July 2022.
The town will also be sending out letters to neighbouring municipalities to put their support behind the implementation of the suicide prevention hotline in Canada.
