Mandate

 To create a proactive dialogue on suicide to get rid of the stigma that surrounds it by showing portraits of those who have lost loved ones and friends to suicide in a book and gallery exhibits. Further, we will advocate for gatekeeper training as a way of continuing a knowledge-based dialogue for professionals and community members as a whole.

Goals for the project;

  • create a proactive dialogue on suicide and mental health
  • lessen the stigma that surrounds suicide and mental health
  • advocate for education and training on suicide awareness and mental health
  • provide factual and evidence based information and links on suicide and mental health
  • create a series of portraits of those who have lost loved ones and friends to suicide that will be part of a book and gallery exhibits

About the Project

“Collateral Damage, Images of Those Left Behind by Suicide,” will be a book of portraits, website and gallery exhibition of people who have had loved ones and friends die by suicide. When I was 17 years old (I’m now 46) my father died by suicide. Although I never hid the fact that my father took his own life, I often felt that I was left dealing with my pain and recovery in solitude, social stigma and loneliness. Throughout my professional career as a Paramedic and Firefighter, I often saw the beginning of the same pattern in the suicide calls that I attended to. I so often found myself wanting to say to grieving and demolished family members, “I know how you feel.” This pattern leaves the survivors of today feeling the same way I did 29 years ago. It is my hope that this project will begin to change this.

The idea of putting a face to the loved ones and friends of those who have died by suicide has been with me for over ten years. I passionately believe that by stepping “out of the dark” and showing that I am a survivor of suicide will help those who are faced with a similar life changing experience today. I also believe that a collection of images of survivors will not only create a path of healing but also help with the social stigmas that continue to plague the issues of suicide and mental health.

For this project, I am the sole photographer as I believe strongly that my vision and how it is photographed and presented is a message within itself. The images will be accompanied by short stories that individuals will share about their journey in suicide survivorship.

The Collateral Damage Project is a registered not for profit that is governed by a volunteer board of directors. Application has been made for charitable status with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Direction

What started out as a local and regional project has grown to national in scope due to the demand and response to the invitation to ‘participate’. The direction now is to bring the project across Canada to include people from all Provinces and Territories. Further, we will include a complete demographic scope of relationships that is representative of those who have lost loved ones and friends to suicide. This will include; parents, siblings, children’s loss of parents, Aboriginal, First Nations, Inuit, GLTB, new immigrants, extended family and friends. Ultimately, when someone loses a loved one or friend to suicide, I want them to be able to “find themselves” within the book/exhibit and know that they are not alone.

When I travel to communities across Canada to meet and photograph people for the project, I will also continue to do public speaking at; Universities, Colleges, community groups and with community leaders to engage a long lasting proactive dialogue on suicide awareness and prevention. We will advocate for gatekeeper training as a tool for creating suicide safer communities.

We will work with our community, provincial and national partners to begin and continue a proactive dialogue on suicide that will ultimately create suicide safer communities.

We will work with and invite researchers (Dr. James Bolton is part of our advisory team), who specialize in suicide, to measure the effectiveness of the Collateral Damage Project and to identify other potential research.

We will continue to foster our partnerships with the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, LivingWorks Inc. and the Canadian Mental Health Association through the growth of the Collateral Damage Project. These partnerships will help us ensure that we maintain best practices when talking about suicide and that we adhere to the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s ‘Media Guidelines for Reporting on Suicide’.

We will continue to foster and grow our partnerships with community based suicide prevention coalitions, councils and organizations such as; Waterloo Suicide Prevention Council, Thunder Bay Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force and The Jack Project.