World Suicide Prevention Day is Saturday

News Release

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, and Kids Help Phone wants to help parents everywhere to understand youth suicide.
“It’s common to assume that if someone close to us is having suicidal thoughts, that we’ll just know it - that it will be obvious,” says Alain Johnson, Clinical Director French Language Services at Kids Help Phone. “This is a misperception, as is the belief that only those with pronounced mental health or addictions issues become suicidal. The reality is that suicidal thinking isn’t always easy to spot, and that people that don’t have identified mental health issues can also become suicidal.”
Though suicidal thinking in others is not always obvious, there are some common warning signs that can indicate whether a child is at risk.
For a parent, knowing that a child is suicidal is incredibly difficult. In addition to the struggle of knowing their child is suffering, parents might feel judged or blamed, or at fault for how their child is feeling. It’s important for parents to know that they don’t have to go through this alone.
Kids Help Phone is here to help young people, and our professional counsellors are also available for media interviews to offer information and tips for parents.