Suicide Prevention Annual General Meeting shares

On Wednesday, November 25, 2009, the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition will host its Annual General Meeting featuring guest speaker, Dr. Jennifer Brasch. Dr. Brasch is a psychiatrist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Centre in Hamilton and the creator of the “Reasons to Go on Living Project”, researching recovery after a suicide attempt by collecting stories on how people made the transition to wanting to live.

“Helping people find hope when they are struggling has always been one of the key objectives for the Suicide Prevention Coalition,” said Halton Regional Chair, Gary Carr. “What more perfect a theme to have for their Annual General Meeting than “Reasons to Go on Living”? I have no doubt that their work will be greatly enhanced by the insights Dr. Brasch has to share.”

The Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition provides leadership, advocacy, and education to the Halton community on suicide, prevention and community needs. The coalition is a loose-knit collaboration of some 30 Halton organizations and agencies as well as interested individuals and survivors of suicide throughout the Region. Membership is open to all individuals and organizations concerned about suicide awareness, prevention, intervention, and postvention in Halton Region.

“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.”

Members of the public are invited to attend the Coalition’s Annual General meeting. Participants will have an opportunity to learn of the Coalition’s progress, help set priorities for future action and participate in a discussion about what they can do to help.

The meeting is being held at RattleSnake Point Golf Club, 5407 Regional Road #25, Milton (between Highway 407 & Britannia Road). A networking lunch will start at 12:00 p.m. with the meeting agenda to follow from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. There is no charge but an RSVP is required. To register, please contact Marina Sue-Ping at 905-338-2112 or email msue-ping@schizophrenia.on.ca.

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

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