Suicide Prevention Annual General Meeting presents "Suicide Prevention: Our History and Our Future"

On Friday November 4, 2011 the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition (HSPC) will host its Annual General Meeting featuring guest speaker, Dr. Antoon Leenaars, a psychotherapist and leading expert on suicide. There will also be a small panel who will share their personal experiences with suicide to help the public understand what helped and what didn’t help them on their own journeys. The meeting is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about suicide prevention or becoming involved with the Coalition.

“Suicide can be a difficult subject to discuss, but the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition is dedicated to opening up the discussion to help all of us understand that a community must work together to save someone’s life,” said Halton Regional Chair, Gary Carr. “The HSPC’s annual general meeting is always a critical piece in their work, and I hope many from Halton attend this year’s event.”

Dr. Leenars is a registered psychologist in private practice in Windsor. He was the first president of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention and a past President of the American Association of Suicidology. Dr Leenaars has published 13 books and over 150 articles related to suicide.

“Thirty people die by suicide in Halton every year,” said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton Region’s Medical Officer of Health. “Over 400 are hospitalized annually from attempted suicides. And for every death by suicide, at least six people are directly impacted. As a community, we need to break the silence and work together to offer hope to help reduce suffering and save lives.”

The meeting is being held at Oakville Conference Center, 2515 Wyecroft Road, Oakville (off Bronte Road just south of the QEW). A networking breakfast will start at 8:30 a.m. with the meeting agenda to follow from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. There is no charge but an RSVP is required. To register, please email accesshalton@halton.ca or dial 311 or 905-825-6000.

For more information about the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition, please visit www.suicidepreventionhalton.ca.

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