According to health professionals, the pandemic brought along a shortage in resources and an impending mental health crisis, triggering a fear of increases in suicides. However, a local initiative is choosing to tackle the problem head-on.
In the fall of 2020, JEVI Centre de Prévention du Suicide de l’Estrie put down a request for $3,000 through the Sherbrooke Citizen Investment Fund. According to Simon Leduc Thouin, social worker and instructor for JEVI, this would help with the funding for the Formation Sentinelle, a training program for people dealing an at-risk population. Their request was approved on Jan. 13.
“We are looking to train willing people, who have the competencies to notice suicidal tendencies and who are willing to go the extra mile to find the resources,” said Leduc Thouin.
The one-day training is offered to companies as well as individuals seeking to prevent the risk of suicides in various fields, especially male-dominated workplaces. According to JEVI’s initial funding proposal, men are four times more likely to commit suicide than women and harder to prevent because of the tendency to bottle up their feelings. In 2019, Canadian men between the ages of 30 to 44 accounted for 75 per cent of suicides.
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For those who are worried for a loved one and do not have the training to interfere, JEVI also offers the possibility of calling your loved one for you to provide them with immediate resources. To contact JEVI call 819 564-1354.
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