Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council works to build hope, help and healing

By Galen Simmons

When it comes to suicide prevention, Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council executive director Elisa Brewer-Singh says everyone has a role to play.

Sometimes that role means recognizing when someone may be struggling and starting a difficult conversation. Other times, it can be helping someone find professional support or simply showing up for a person grieving the loss of a loved one.

For nearly 30 years, the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council (WRSPC) has worked to give people the knowledge, resources and confidence to do just that.

“We’re a small organization whose primary goal really focuses on what we often refer to as hope, help and healing,” Brewer-Singh said. “It’s just supporting the community and increasing awareness.”

Established in 1997, the non-profit organization works to reduce suicide and its impact through collaboration, education and training while fostering a sense of belonging. Its work includes presentations in schools and workplaces, community workshops and events, suicide-prevention resources and training opportunities.

While the council does not provide crisis intervention or counselling itself, it acts as a hub connecting people with organizations and resources that can help.

A significant part of that work is breaking down the stigma that can make people reluctant to talk openly about suicide.

“We all do have a role in suicide prevention,” Brewer-Singh said. “We have a key role in whether it’s raising awareness, whether it is addressing stigma that sometimes still exists.”

One persistent misconception is that asking someone about suicide could put the idea in their mind. Brewer-Singh said research shows open and caring conversations can instead encourage people to seek or accept help.

For someone unsure how to begin, she said it does not require a carefully rehearsed script.

“Sometimes we’re just starting with, ‘I really care about you and I’ve noticed … ,’ whatever that may be, ‘and I just want to have a conversation with you.’ ”

The council's work continues after a suicide through its free bereavement programming.

Three times each year, WRSPC offers a 10-week closed support group for people who have lost someone to suicide. Led by two professional clinicians, the group explores traumatic bereavement while helping participants find ways to remember their loved ones and incorporate them into new traditions.

Even that program has become a community effort. Cambridge's Busy Hand Quilters Guild has donated quilts for participants for several years, with each person also receiving other comfort items.

“It’s just the community’s way of also saying, ‘We see you in this moment and we just want you to know that we care as well,’ ” Brewer-Singh said.

That willingness to show up matters. Brewer-Singh recalled advice she once heard about supporting someone grieving a suicide: “Bring them the soup.”

“We wouldn’t hesitate to show up with soup for someone who had experienced a loss, but sometimes they get a little bit uncertain about what to do when it is a loss by suicide,” she said. “Bring them the soup.”

As World Suicide Prevention Day approaches Sept. 10, Brewer-Singh said this year's message continues an international theme focused on changing the narrative around suicide.

For WRSPC, that means creating communities in which people are better equipped and more comfortable talking about suicide, offering help and asking for it themselves.

“We collectively can all engage in those open and honest conversations,” Brewer-Singh said. “We can work together to help change the narrative and support individuals who may be experiencing really intense emotional or psychological pain to find help. We truly do all have a role to play.”

WRSPC will mark World Suicide Prevention Day with a community event Sept. 10 from 4-7 p.m. at the Family Centre in Kitchener featuring information, activities and a guest-speaker panel.

More information about the council, suicide prevention and bereavement resources is available through WRSPC's website, wrspc.ca.