amplify impact 2017-2018 REPORT In 2010, organizations from different “ Suicide and suicide attempts are symptoms of a very sectors in Ottawa came together through serious medical illness and the Community Suicide the Community Suicide Prevention Network Prevention Network has been instrumental in bringing the community together to support everyone working to (CSPN) with the intention of working in a address this important health problem. As the Clinical more collaborative way to prevent suicide. Director of Youth Psychiatry at The Royal, I am honoured to work with the colleagues and families brought together by the CSPN.” – Dr. Gail Beck, Clinical Director, Youth Psychiatry, The Royal AMPLIFY collaboration At the helm from the beginning were Co-Chairs George Weber and Joanne Lowe, who We could not achieve these outcomes without the contributions of CSPN partners and brought a breadth of understanding of the mental health community in Ottawa. With funders. Thank you for the work you do and for your contributions to prevent suicide this, they pulled the community together, and lead by example – showing personal among youth in Ottawa. commitment of time and energy to support numerous collaborations and initiatives. Our funders are the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, the City of Ottawa (Ottawa Fast forward to today, and the CSPN is a facilitator working to support the various Public Health), the Youth Services Bureau, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, organizations in Ottawa that are leading efforts to prevent suicide in Ottawa. These are in and the Royal Ottawa Health Group (The Royal). different phases of progress. Projects like the implementation of Sources of Strength, are in full force with a complete evaluation showing promising results. Other initiatives, like an online video series about peer support, are ready to launch by the fall of 2018, and an initiative relating to postvention is currently underway. IN 2017-2018 A key priority for Joanne and George in 2017, was to engage two new leaders: and on 67 ORGANIZATIONS this, the CSPN steering committee is pleased to introduce and welcome Tim Simboli, WERE MEMBERS OF THE CSPN Executive Director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, and Joanne Bezzubetz, Vice-President of Patient Care Services at The Royal, as the new Co-Chairs of the CSPN. 1138 CONTACTS ATTENDED Welcome to the new CSPN Co-Chairs, CSPN MEETINGS AND EVENTS Joanne Bezzubetz and Tim Simboli. responseAMPLIFY THE In 2017, CSPN members built on Ottawa’s growing momentum to work collaboratively. With a Child and Youth Mental Health developed a series of online videos to increase understanding of focus on improving how we respond when a child, youth or young adult reaches out for help, youth peer support, with the aim of strengthening youths’ skills to help others, while also caring CSPN partners expanded their reach, and developed new initiatives. for themselves. The videos, created in 2017, were informed by a working group of youth leaders and members of the CSPN. These will be released by the fall of 2018. Parents Lifelines of Eastern Ontario- one of the first initiatives endorsed by CSPN partners- provides peer support to families with a child, youth or young adult experiencing mental health or With each sad death by suicide, our community comes together to support the people who are addiction challenges. PLEO offers services across the city, and throughout the Champlain LHIN impacted, to try to understand how it could have been prevented, and to discuss how to stop with a bilingual, confidential, telephone helpline, monthly support groups, and mobile one-on-one future deaths. In 2017, many of the organizations involved in these discussions formed a working supports. With services and a catchment area that have continued to grow since its inception, group to develop tools to improve our collective responses to suicide. These will be shared widely PLEO is a good example of sustainable, collaborative action in building a thriving service. PLEO during their development, which will take place throughout 2018. acknowledges all partners who continue to collaborate to make this initiative so successful, and This work builds on the ongoing efforts by the Suicide Prevention Coalition’s, Post Suicide to organizations like Crossroads Children Centre and The Royal who were essential to the launch Support Team that provides structured group sessions for non-family members after a suicide. of these services. The aim is to create a safe, confidential setting where survivors can share thoughts and feelings, Early intervention can reduce the risk of suicide among youth. When families feel supported and learn about stress reactions and community resources. and know where to access services for their child or youth, their chances for a positive outcome Together we can amplify impact: you are invited to link-in to these actions, and the CSPN is are increased. available to support in mobilizing activities, ideas and initiatives relating to suicide prevention As a compliment to the work of PLEO, and in supporting caregivers to navigate the mental health among young people in Ottawa. system, CSPN partners delivered several mental health literacy campaigns using Facebook Live videos throughout 2017. These continue to be available for streaming through the CSPNs Facebook page. Videos engaged local experts to explain what to watch for, what to do and where IN 2017-2018 to access services if you are concerned about a child, youth or young adult who is struggling with PLEO reached 422 FAMILIES 13, 133 CONTACTS viewed thoughts of suicide. through the helpline CSPN Facebook Livestream events, with 59 PEOPLE sharing our videos Another ongoing initiative that aims to enhance our community’s capacity to respond when youth PLEO engaged 335 FAMILIES are struggling was geared to youth who deliver peer support. The Ontario Centre of Excellence for through their support groups Sources of Strength is a peer-to-peer resiliency promoting program being rolled out in Of the 558 peer leaders involved in the Sources of Strength program in Ottawa in 2017, 22 schools in Ottawa. Ten cross-sectoral organizations worked together to implement 113 participated in an outcome-based evaluation. Of these, 94% reported that if they Sources of Strength in 2017. were really upset and needed help, they believe a counselor or adult at the school could help them. Within this same group, 87% said they know of adults who could help a Thanks to the conscientious work of the Sources of Strength leaders – that’s peers, friend who is thinking of suicide, and 77% said they would talk to a counselor or other teachers, guidance counselors, school staff, administrators, school boards and trainers – adult at the school if they themselves were struggling. This bodes well considering the campaigns to encourage help seeking and support youth to develop personal strengths data from the last Ottawa Student Drug Use and Health Report, stated that 71% of high reached 38,434 contacts in the 2016/2017 school year! school students who seriously considered suicide did not know where to turn for help* A key component of the program is for adult advisors to support peer leaders as they (Ottawa Public Health, 2014). deliver campaigns for youth in schools. Campaigns focus on getting youth to talk about their strengths, to name trusted adults, and to commit to breaking codes of silence about suicide. resilienceAMPLIFY “Sources of Strength has IN THE LAST The schools that have a Sources of Strength club as of 2017 are: given me an understanding Ottawa Carleton District School Board Ottawa Catholic School Board SCHOOL YEAR 1. Glebe Collegiate Institute 1. St. Joseph’s High School of the people and things SCHOOLS ENGAGED 2. West Carleton Secondary School 2. Lester B Pearson High School 558 STUDENTS AS PEER 3. Rideau High School 3. Sacred Heart High School I can turn to when I’m LEADERS IN SOURCES OF STRENGTH 4. Lisgar Collegiate Institute 4. Notre Dame High School struggling. It helps me to SCHOOLS SUPPORTED PEER LEADERS 5. Nepean High School 5. Holy Trinity High School TO DELIVER 112 CAMPAIGNS 6. Brookfield High School 6. St. Mark’s High School have more of a positive PEER LEADERS MADE 7. Woodroffe High School 7. Youville Centre 8. Richard Pfaff Alternate Program mindset and has given me a 38,434 CONTACTS Conseil des écoles publiques THROUGH THEIR CAMPAIGNS 9. AY Jackson High School greater sense of belonging 10. South Carleton High School de l’Est de l’Ontario 11. Sir Robert Borden High School 1. École secondaire publique at my school.” 12. Gloucester High School Giselle-Lalonde 13. Canterbury High School – Peer Leader, Sources of Strength, * Ottawa Public Health. Ottawa Student Drug Use and Health 14. Cairine Wilson High School Ottawa, 2017 Report, 2014. Ottawa (ON): Ottawa Public Health; 2014 Members of the CSPN include: Youth Net University of Ottawa Health Canada CSPN STEERING Ottawa Bullying Prevention PLEO Youville Centre Brain and Mind Research Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami COMMITTEE MEMBERS Coalition Psychiatric Survivors Institute KNOWLEDGE Jewish Family Services Bruyère Family Ottawa Carleton District of Ottawa MOBILIZATION TEAM Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa Medicine Centre School Board Samar El Faki- Youth School of Epidemiology ADDITIONAL CSPN Maryhomes Inc Canadian Mental Health Ottawa Inuit Children’s Advisor MEMBERS and Public Health, Mental Health Commission Association- Co-Chair Centre University of Ottawa University of Ottawa Councillor Allan Hubley of Canada