CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION

We are the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, its Executive and Board, its members, friends, and supporters. We are Canadians who want to reduce suicide and its impact in Canada. We want to end the silence. We want to ease the suffering, to heal our communities and our neighbours, as we have healed ourselves. We are survivors of loss. Among us, we have lost children, parents, family member, neighbours, friends, patients. We want to end the silence and prevent others from experiencing such loss.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SUICIDOLOGY

“AAS is a membership organization for all those involved in suicide prevention and intervention, or touched by suicide. AAS is a leader in the advancement of scientific and programmatic efforts in suicide prevention through research, education and training, the development of standards and resources, and survivor support services.”

Our Purpose

Why is there a need for the American Association of Suicidology?

Official statistics show that more than 31,000 Americans kill themselves every year. The true figure is probably higher. The number of non-fatal suicide attempts is considerably greater, often resulting in serious injuries, trauma to families and friends, and economic loss to our society.

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24, and is the 11th leading cause of death overall.

Suicide occurs across all ages, economic, social and ethnic boundaries.

Surviving family members not only suffer the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide, but are themselves at potentially higher risk of suicide and emotional problems.

Most suicidal persons give definite warnings of their suicidal thoughts, but those closest to them are either unaware of the significance of these warning or do not know how to respond to them.

Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council

The WRSPC is a non profit, voluntary council comprised of 20 representatives from Waterloo Region. The WRSPC strives to maintain equal representations from professionals/organizations dealing directly with suicidal behavior, associated professionals (faith community, teachers) and the community (family, friends and individuals affected by suicide).

The Council promotes a community wide strategy to reduce the incidence of suicidal behavior through public awareness, education, skill development, and public health advocacy. The Council strives to reduce the impact of suicidal behavior through the improvement of services, collection of local statistical data and through community consultation, co-ordination, and collaboration.

Canadian Mental Health Association

Thunder Bay Site

Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health

Established in 1998, the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) is an alliance of mental health organizations comprised of health care providers, as well as the mentally ill and their families. CAMIMH’s mandate is to ensure that mental health is placed on the national agenda so that persons with a lived experience of mental illness and their families receive appropriate access to care and support.

Ontario Suicide Prevention Network

Mission Statement

Ontario Suicide Prevention Network (OSPN) is a networking body that links communities in Ontario by supporting and encouraging the development of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention materials and activities.

Vision Statement

To collaborate with Ontario communities to provide: education, networking, advocacy and resource development on suicide prevention with the goal of reducing the impact of suicide on individuals, families and communities.

Living Matters

Resources for those who care for and about depressed and suicidal youth.
Bev Cobain of Living Matters is a Registered Nurse, with credentials in psychiatric/mental health nursing. Her own struggle with depression and the suicides of three family members–most recently the 1994 death of her young cousin, Kurt Cobain, front man for the band, Nirvana–ignited a passion in Bev to educate professionals, lay persons, and youth about depression and the significant public health issue of suicide. Her desire to educate resulted in her writing the acclaimed book, “When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens” and developing the Living Matters web site to provide an additional avenue to share her knowledge and experience of youth depression and suicide.

International Association for Suicide Prevention

The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is dedicated to:

• preventing suicidal behaviour,
• alleviating its effects, and
• providing a forum for academians, mental health professionals, crisis  workers, volunteers and suicide survivors.

Founded by the late Professor Erwin Ringel and Dr. Norman Farberow in 1960, IASP now includes professionals and volunteers from more than fifty different countries. IASP is a Non-Governmental Organization in official relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) concerned with suicide prevention.

Living Works

We are the suicide intervention training company.

Based upon current knowledge, we believe suicide intervention should be a major part of every community’s suicide prevention strategy. A one on one relationship between a person at risk and a competent helper represents a unique opportunity of effecting a life-saving or life-altering change. We train community helpers of all kinds to work in this intervention context.

We are a private, for-profit, corporation, employing all of the financial discipline, innovation and determination of any private sector business to achieve our mission. This business foundation allows us to develop collaborative partnerships with private and public organizations around the world without compromising our training standards.

The Carson J. Spencer Foundation

The Carson J Spencer Foundation was established in 2005 to preserve the memory of Carson J. Spencer, who took his life after a difficult battle with bipolar disorder on December 7, 2004.  Through the continuing legacy of this foundation, we hope to honor the man that brought so much good into the world by helping others.  Carson was a loving husband and father, a caring son and brother, a dynamic and successful entrepreneur, an accomplished athlete, and a friend to many.  After his death, the Rocky Mountain News wrote a tribute: “Carson was a bright star that burned out too quickly.”

The Carson J. Spencer Foundation envisions a world where leaders and communities are committed to sustaining a passion for life. We sustain a passion for life through suicide prevention, social enterprise and support for emerging leaders.

We hope to keep his light going.

Skylight

We are a not for profit national (New Zealand) organization that provides unique and specialized support to children, young people and their families/whanau through change, loss, trauma and grief – whatever the cause.

People Prevent Suicide

A clearinghouse of suicide prevention resources for campus stakeholders

Vision; We at PeoplePreventSuicide.org envision a world where all stakeholders of college campus life are prepared to prevent suicide and to support those affected by it.

Mission; Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students yet is a preventable tragedy. We aim to provide student leaders, counselors, safety and health professionals, parents, spiritual leaders, senior administrators, faculty/staff, friends and media with toolkits on how to prepare for the prevention of and response to suicide on college campuses.

Value Statements;

We encourage collaboration across campus organizations, personnel, staff and students in an effort to encourage care.

We are interested in developing partnerships where best practices are shared among those interested in mental health promotion and suicide prevention at the international, national, state and local levels.

We value the power of science and stories to eradicate the stigma of mental health disorders and suicide.

We advocate for mental health resources and care for those in suicide crisis.

Working Minds

Our vision is of a community of workplaces eliminating the devastating impact of suicide at work and beyond.

BEFRIENDERS WORLDWIDE

Befrienders Worldwide’s vision is to contribute to a society where suicide is understood both locally and globally, leading to fewer deaths by suicide.  Our mission is to be a principal resource in emotional support delivered primarily by volunteers, and to share research which can lead to innovative service practices.  We value giving a person the opportunity to explore feelings which can cause distress, the importance of being listened to, in confidence, anonymously, without prejudice and we value that a person has the fundamental decision about their own life.

We have an impact on suicide and suicidal behaviour through a network of 169 independent emotional support centres in 29 countries. These centres provide an open space for those in distress to talk and be heard. This service is provided via telephone helplines, SMS messaging, face to face, outreach, partnerships and the internet.