GUELPH – The Support after Suicide program has been terminated after losing provincial funding, but local officials say they are determined to keep the conversation going and to seek funding elsewhere.
Created in 2020 to support individuals and families bereaved by suicide, the program is a partnership between the county, Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA WW) and the Wellington County OPP.
It was a part of CMHA WW’s Here4Hope framework, a community-based life promotion and suicide prevention project.
“The grant was a community in policing grant … and it was funded through the Minister of the Solicitor General,” county manager of strategic wellness initiatives Cecilia Marie Roberts told the Advertiser.
In the last three years the total grant was $224,800 each year.
“We were quite lucky and I think it’s not common for the grant to be able to be used for two cycles for the same program,” she explained.
Roberts noted the funding was not cut off or stopped by the OPP, just discontinued by the province.
“This is the sad nature of this work,” she said.
Here4Hope was launched in 2019 with the focus of increasing the public’s ability to speak about suicide, bring it out of the shadows and make it a mainstream topic.
Officials wanted the chance to normalize the discussion and increase the capacity of people reaching out for help.
“We particularly wanted to focus on supporting those individuals that had been impacted by loss via suicide,” Roberts said.
“When you’re talking about a rural community where people are so interconnected, the impact was huge, and the very specialized support that we needed to address that pain was just not there.”
In 2022 the province confirmed $647,500 would be provided to Here4Hope’s Support after Suicide program for 2022 to 2025.
Around 85 per cent of the overall funds went to wages for a CMHA WW mental health clinician, peer navigator and an OPP officer.
The rest (around $97,125) paid for consultants, engagement, education and training.
The program offered bereavement counselling, grief groups, resources and referrals to other community supports.
“We knew (when we were) applying for the grant that it was time-limited,” CMHA WW chief executive officer Helen Fishburn said.
Roberts and Fishburn delegated to county council on June 26 to reassure councillors they will continue the ongoing work, despite the lack of funding.
According to Fishburn, the next steps include applying for more grants, fundraising and keeping the conversation open and active.
“We do ongoing training, social media, podcasts … whatever role you have in the community there is training available,” she said.
“We’re going to continue to do our best to find other grants that might be able to support the Support after Suicide program.”
Fishburn added, “We’re still in the middle of a mental health crisis in our community.
“We’re still unpacking from the [COVID-19] pandemic.”
Communities in the county are also “very unsettled” by a housing and affordability crisis, international wars and tariffs, she continued.
“It really has created a tremendous change in our baseline of anxiety, stress [and] worry that really creeps into every corner of our community,” Fishburn told council.
Although the Support after Suicide program has been halted, the Here4Hope program will continue to offer resources through existing staff.
“We’re going to continue to specifically focus our efforts on two groups: youth who present at risk … and on men, who we know are particularly at [a] higher risk of suicide,” she said.
Those interested in getting involved in suicide prevention can visit the Here4Hope website at here4hope.ca.
Here4Hope is a partner with the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline.
Those needing immediate assistance can call Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247.
