To the editor: Re: "Letter of the week," Oct. 19. On Nov. 5, VSB trustees Sophia Woo and Ken Denike asked the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Board of Education to take action on suicide.
The 2008 Coroner's report, "A Five Year Retrospective Review of Child and Youth Suicide in B.C.," examined the suicide deaths of 81 young people. It concluded a coordinated approach to suicide prevention was necessary. It advised partnership between school boards and the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Health to:
1) Standardize best practice approaches in schools for suicide risk management;
2) Adopt curriculum to build resiliency, social connectedness and recognition by students of potential risks for self-harm;
3) Increase teacher's knowledge/skills to feel confident identifying suicide risk.
Thirty-six more B.C. youth 19 and under died by suicide in 2010. The recommendations have yet to be adopted by trustees.
Bill C-300, a private members bill in support of a national framework for suicide prevention, has finally made it to the Senate. Given the overwhelming support from all parties, it will undoubtedly pass into law. However, even when the legislation is in place little can happen without concrete work to translate high level federal policy into local positive actions that make a difference. The motion put forward by Denike and Woo would take us in that direction now.
Dammy Damstrom Albach, President-Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Vancouver
