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The Saskatchewan government has created a five-point plan for suicide prevention. It’s called Pillars for Life.
“Ultimately what this plan is putting forward is a plan and a process to reduce the number of suicides in this province,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Warren Kaeding said Friday. “Honestly, if we can save one person from suicide this plan is a success.”
This plan began in 2014 when the minster of health endorsed a 10-year mental health and addiction action plan, which became a guiding document for the Pillars for Life, according to the province.
Kaeding explained that health officials taking their time meant they could get a better understanding of what worked.
“We were able to look across Canada through the provinces and territories and determine what some of the best practices were,” he said.
Unsuccessful initiatives were also examined to determine what didn’t work and why.
The five pillars represent each of the plan’s focuses.
Pillar one: Specialized supports including enhancing and evaluating investments in mental health and addictions.
Pillar two: Training — like mental health first aid, specialized skill development and accommodating cultural traditions for First Nations and Metis patients and their families.
Pillar three: Awareness. This pillar will allow for a public awareness campaign targeting young people, particularly those in the north and to expand existing programs in five schools.
Pillar four: Means restrictions and means safety. The goal of this pillar is to improve hospital and inpatient centres infrastructure to reduce the risk of suicide.
Pillar five: Research, surveillance and evaluation. As the name implies, this section will assist in data collection and deciphering what it means to support planning.
“This is part of our mental health and addictions budget,” Kaeding explained. “Specifically to make sure that we get all our action plans initiated and completed this year we’ve earmarked $1.2 million.”
Numbers from the province show 144 people die by suicide in Saskatchewan each year. It’s also the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 49 in the north.
“We want to make sure people know help is available for those who may be thinking about suicide,” Kaeding said in a media statement.
