Category: Updates

Volunteers are the heartbeat of our mission: not only do they keep the Centre running, they provide life-affirming support on our crisis lines and to our communities every single day.

On Friday, August 23rd, we had a chance to express our gratitude at our Volunteer Appreciation Jamboree at Trout Lake Park. This annual event is a heartfelt celebration of the incredible individuals who contribute their time and passion to our cause.

Our sincere gratitude to the following businesses whose generosity made the event extra special:

The not so early bird

Brassneck Brewing

Burgoo

Hime Sushi

Modo Yoga

Pedal Society

Rain or Shine

The Rio Theatre

Rhythm City

Cycle Vancouver

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If you would like to join Crisis Centre’s team of volunteers, check out our website for the full listing of volunteer opportunities and application information.

Last year, we reported that the Crisis Centre of BC, in partnership with the BC Crisis Line Network, was working to bring about changes to our systems to ensure British Columbians receive the right kind of suicide intervention and mental health crisis care.

This year, we took a crucial step towards providing better access to mental health crisis care for all, with the integration of local centres across the network onto the same phone system, allowing calls to be routed between them.

For years, we have worked to ensure that no call is left unanswered, that nobody is left waiting or met with a voicemail inbox in their moment of need. In September 2023 we onboarded onto the Provincial Health Services Authority’s new call centre, alongside nine other BC crisis centres. Now, if a particular crisis centre is experiencing a high volume of calls, another centre within the network provides seamless backup support. This ensures that people in crisis receive timely help, even during peak hours. The network also fosters knowledge sharing and collaboration between crisis centres, meaning we can continue to improve the quality and appropriateness of support we provide.

In BC, we moved from a 43% answer rate for incoming calls to a 76% answer rate in only six months.

In November 2023, we also onboarded onto the national 9-8-8 platform, joining 40 crisis centres across Canada to provide immediate support to folks dealing with suicidal thoughts or actions. The 9-8-8 service has been receiving 1,000 calls and 450 texts every single day, and we have answered calls from people in distress as close as our neighbourhood and as distant as Newfoundland. The bottom line is, these calls get answered because crisis line responders are available. 

9-8-8 offers bilingual, culturally appropriate support, and an easy-to-remember number, ensuring a broader reach to those who may not have known about previous helplines. 

 

Building a Stronger Safety Net for Crisis

The launch of the provincial crisis line network and the national 9-8-8 suicide crisis hotline are significant strides towards a more effective crisis response system. However, the road ahead requires further collaboration.

Here in British Columbia, we continue to work towards a more coordinated crisis response continuum, a comprehensive approach that prioritizes early intervention and community-based support. 

A crisis care continuum maximizes the autonomy of the person in crisis by providing alternatives to police and psychiatric intervention, which is often the default for crisis intervention today. We believe in a system that helps the person in crisis decide their next steps in the least restrictive way, and minimizes the trauma inherent in coercive approaches to care.

The ideal continuum includes:

• 24/7 accessible crisis hotlines, chat, and text services: These would offer immediate intervention and serve as the entry point for further support within the continuum.
• Civilian-led mobile crisis response teams: These teams would be equipped to address crises directly in the community; in communities using civilian-led teams, police interventions are almost never necessary.
• Community-based crisis respite facilities: These facilities, separate from hospitals and jails, would provide safe havens for those in crisis; when community-based crisis respite is in place, only 2% of individuals who flow through the crisis care continuum require psychiatric hospitalization.
• Wraparound crisis follow-up and care: This ensures individuals receive ongoing community-based support after a crisis event.

The national suicide crisis line is a step in the right direction. To further streamline crisis care and minimize police involvement in mental health situations, we advocate for:

• Ensuring all BC 9-8-8 calls are answered in BC.
• Clear criteria for directing calls from 9-1-1 and police non-emergency lines to crisis lines, ensuring individuals connect with the most appropriate resources.
• Expanding the use of 310-6789, BC’s crisis line, as a public access point for dispatching mobile crisis teams across the province, as public feedback suggests.

By working together to implement a comprehensive crisis response continuum, we can build a more robust safety net for those in need.

Do you believe that everyone deserves support through crisis? If so, we invite you to become a society member of the Crisis Centre of BC.

If you are dedicated to providing help and hope to individuals, organizations, and communities across the spectrum of crisis support, suicide prevention and postvention, we’d like to invite you to consider becoming a member. Membership in the Crisis Centre is free, and there is no obligation to become a donor.  

To learn about the benefits of members and to check out eligibility for becoming a member, visit our website. 

Joining the Board of Directors: If you are interested in taking on more of a leadership role, consider joining the Crisis Centre’s Board of Directors. To begin the application process, please complete the membership form and review the Board job description here. 

Click here to more information about membership.

Contributors: Berkay Derman, Sam Newbery

Young people across Canada are smart, caring, and already know a lot about their own minds. At the same time, we know they are facing unprecedented challenges which are impacting their mental health: this has been borne out through recent surveys and is evidenced by the Government of Canada’s creation of the Youth Mental Health Fund, currently in the consultation phase.

With the topic of mental health firmly on the table this International Youth Day, we are proud that we are already doing the work of fostering resilience, hope and thoughtfulness in our next generation. 

At the Crisis Centre of BC, we offer two training programs specifically for youth in grades 6-12: Self-Care for Mental Health, which is an in-classroom, 90 minute workshop, and MindFlip: Brain Science Tools for Everyday Living, which is an online, self-paced course that is completely free to access. A new workshop for youth is also underway, to be piloted in the upcoming school year starting in Fall 2024. Several of our training programs, including safeTALK and Skilfully Responding to Distress, are also suitable for participants aged 15 and older. See our Programs for Youth page for the full list.

In the last school year, our youth training programs reached over 16,000 young people across BC and Canada. 

Our in-person workshop, Self-Care for Mental Health, is facilitated by skilled and dedicated Youth Educator Volunteers, who in the last year alone contributed over 2,800 hours of their time to delivering the workshop to classrooms across the Lower Mainland. They speak authentically, often from their own lived experience, with the aim of breaking down stigma and bringing mental health out into the open so that everyone feels they have support when they need it.

We know these facilitators made a real impact: one Self-Care for Mental Health participant reflected that the course was “very applicable to my life; it was something that I could really think about realistically implementing into my life.” Another found it comforting to learn that they were not alone in dealing with their problems, and the course helped them feel that there are solutions available. Another participant commented that they would love to see the training embedded into the school curriculum, adding: “It gave me ideas as to what could benefit my mental health. I will definitely remember this lesson.”

Our online training program, MindFlip: Brain Science Tools for Everyday Living, is completely free to access, and is suitable for young people to take either independently, or in a group setting. The self-directed modules introduce concepts of brain science and explain how it informs practical tools that can be used for effective self-regulation. A group of young students were integral in the development of the MindFlip modules, including the look and feel of the visuals.

Students have told us that they found the course compelling, and believe it will help others like them who struggle with a negative mindset to “flip” to a better one. Support workers also reflected that the course is well made, and that the youth perspective shines through and really adds value to the content of the course. “The videos are done really well and everything was explained in a way that everyone can understand. The guided practices at the end of each session are really helpful.”

We need your help

Feedback about our youth programs is consistently positive, making a real impact on the hearts and minds of the young people who experience them. Our hope is that we can continue to expand our reach and train up new Youth Educator Volunteers to teach coping skills and resiliency to young people across the province. Our volunteers are mental health advocates, role models, and above all, people with lived experience. By modeling openness about mental health, we want to ensure every young person feels empowered to ask for support when they need it, and never feels alone in their struggle. 

But we can’t do this without your help. We rely on donations to maintain and grow our programs. Your donation will help us expand our vital programming, train new Youth Educators, and provide youth with empowering, life-sustaining and hope-inspiring resources to take forward into their lives. Learn more about becoming a donor or make a one-time donation and help us create hope for even more young people.

 

Vancouver, BC – July 24, 2024 – The Crisis Centre of BC acknowledges today’s Vancouver City Council decision to include the installation of suicide prevention barriers on the Granville Street Bridge into its Capital Plan, but we are disappointed that this essential work is still contingent on other levels of government coming to the table first.

The original motion, introduced by Councillor Christine Boyle, was designed to save lives – now. Amendments brought forward mark a step forward in creating a suicide-safer Vancouver, but they do not address the urgency of the lived and living experiences of folks directly impacted by suicide on Granville Street Bridge.

The Centre supports the inclusion of suicide bridge barrier funding in the National Suicide Prevention Action Plan. We encourage the City to apply for infrastructure funding from all levels of government. But these actions can happen after City Council makes a clear commitment to fund and install suicide prevention fencing as quickly as possible.

The lives of Vancouver residents should not rely on resolving debates about funding.

“While the motion as passed did not meet our hope of prioritizing the lives of residents by unanimously supporting the installation of barriers as soon as possible, the motion still carries weight to bring about significant change in our region, province and country,” said Stacy Ashton, Executive Director of the Crisis Centre of BC. “By bringing forward the addition of bridge suicide barriers as a priority addition to Canada’s National Suicide Prevention Action Plan, Vancouver is demonstrating a commitment to this work; we would have liked that commitment to go further to create safety on Granville Bridge now.”

The Crisis Centre of BC remains dedicated to supporting individuals in crisis and advocating for suicide prevention measures. With today’s decision, the organization is hopeful for a future where bridges are symbols of hope and connection, rather than despair.

About the Crisis Centre of BC

The Crisis Centre of BC is a leading provider of crisis intervention and suicide prevention services in British Columbia. The Centre operates 24/7 crisis lines offering barrier-free, non-judgemental, confidential support and follow-up, as well as education and training programs that promote mental wellness and equip schools, organizations and communities to assist people at risk of suicide.

• 310-6789 (no area code needed)
  BC Mental Health Support Line
• 1-800-SUICIDE / 1-800-784-2433
  BC Suicide Prevention and Intervention Line
• 9-8-8
  National Suicide Crisis Helpline / Ligne d’aide en cas de crise de suicide

Media Requests

Jeffrey Preiss
Director, Development & Communications
jpreiss@crisiscentre.bc.ca

Stacy Ashton
Executive Director, Crisis Centre of BC
Chair, BC Crisis Line Network
sashton@crisiscentre.bc.ca

Vancouver, BC – July 17, 2024 – The Crisis Centre BC is calling on the Vancouver City Mayor and Council to champion public safety and mental health by supporting the upcoming motion regarding suicide prevention fencing for the Granville Bridge. The motion will be brought forward to Council on July 24, 2024.

“Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy,” states Stacy Ashton, Executive Director at Crisis Centre BC. “Suicide prevention fencing on Granville Bridge will save lives.”

The Crisis Centre of BC is a signatory to a Letter to Mayor & Council sent on July 17, 2024.  Other signatories include: Tom Lancaster – General Manager, CMHC-Granville Island; Ruhamah Buchanan – President, PSAC Local 20378, Granville Island; Jonny Morris – Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Mental Health Association, BC; Jeannine Martin, President, Vancouver Regional Construction Association; Jane Talbot, Executive Director, Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association; Ivy Haisell, Executive Director of the South Granville Business Improvement Association.  

“The heartbreaking reality is that people attempting suicide from the bridge are acting in moments of crisis,” says Ashton.  Suicide prevention fencing offers a critical opportunity for intervention and prevents final decisions made in someone’s most difficult moments.  These fences save lives, prevent injuries, and prevent trauma for the first responders and bystanders who are moved to help and who witness these events.

By prioritizing this motion, the Council can send a strong message that they value the safety and well-being of all Vancouver residents.

About the Crisis Centre of BC

The Crisis Centre of BC is a leading provider of crisis intervention and suicide prevention services in British Columbia. The Centre operates 24/7 crisis lines offering barrier-free, non-judgemental, confidential support and follow-up, as well as education and training programs that promote mental wellness and equip schools, organizations and communities to assist people at risk of suicide.

• 310-6789 (no area code needed)
  BC Mental Health Support Line
• 1-800-SUICIDE / 1-800-784-2433
  BC Suicide Prevention and Intervention Line
• 9-8-8
  National Suicide Crisis Helpline / Ligne d’aide en cas de crise de suicide

Media Requests

Jeffrey Preiss
Director, Development & Communications
jpreiss@crisiscentre.bc.ca

Stacy Ashton
Executive Director, Crisis Centre of BC
Chair, BC Crisis Line Network
sashton@crisiscentre.bc.ca

Vancouver, BC – June 17, 2024 – The Crisis Centre of BC is calling for the widespread implementation of bridge barriers and fencing as a key strategy in preventing suicide.

“We are talking about a human being who is likely experiencing their darkest moment,” says Stacy Ashton, Executive Director of the Crisis Centre of BC. “Our goal is to keep them safe and show them that their life matters. Bridge fencing on all bridges, combined with readily available crisis phone access, can achieve this.”

Ashton emphasizes that bridge barriers are not just about preventing suicide, but about creating a safety net and offering a chance for intervention.

“When someone is in crisis, a bridge can become a symbol of finality. Barriers and fencing buy time, allowing that person the opportunity to connect with help and find hope,” she says.

The Crisis Centre cites a report by Toronto Public Health, which highlights the effectiveness of bridge barriers. The report found a 93 per cent reduction in suicide deaths at bridge locations where barriers were implemented.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” says Ashton. “Suicide rates may fluctuate, but what matters most is that the vast majority of people find a path to lives worth living when we’re there for them during their most difficult times. Bridge barriers are a crucial piece of the puzzle in preventing suicide.”

The Crisis Centre acknowledges that aesthetics and cost may be considerations, but believes these concerns can be addressed through design and collaboration.

“We urge bridge authorities and government officials to prioritize public safety and mental health,” concludes Ashton. “Let’s work together to make sure every bridge is a symbol of hope and connection, not despair.”

About the Crisis Centre of BC

The Crisis Centre of BC is a leading provider of crisis intervention and suicide prevention services in British Columbia. The Centre operates 24/7 crisis lines offering barrier-free, non-judgemental, confidential support and follow-up, as well as education and training programs that promote mental wellness and equip schools, organizations and communities to assist people at risk of suicide.

• 310-6789 (no area code needed)
  BC Mental Health Support Line
• 1-800-SUICIDE / 1-800-784-2433
  BC Suicide Prevention and Intervention Line
• 9-8-8
  National Suicide Crisis Helpline / Ligne d’aide en cas de crise de suicide

Media Requests

Jeffrey Preiss
Director, Development & Communications
jpreiss@crisiscentre.bc.ca

Stacy Ashton
Executive Director, Crisis Centre of BC
Chair, BC Crisis Line Network
sashton@crisiscentre.bc.ca

BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services (BCMHSUS) is leading the Crisis Line Enhancement Project – an initiative focused on enhancing the quality, consistency and capacity of crisis line services across BC. The aim is to provide a provincial crisis line service that is anti-racist, non-discriminatory, culturally safe, and supportive of peoples from all backgrounds – regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, migrant status, beliefs or disabilities.

BCMHSUS, in collaboration with the BC Crisis Lines, Trans Care BC and PHSA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team – will be hosting a ‘Diverse Client Voices’ dialogue event on June 19th, 2024.

The aim of the event is to bring together crisis line responders and patient / family partners with:

• lived experiences of mental health challenges
• and / or previous histories of using crisis line services

to identify ways to make the service safer and more accessible for all of BC’s diverse communities.

For this event, we are curious about how we can enhance the crisis line service to support community members who identify as:

• Indigenous, Black or a Person of Colour (IBPOC)
• Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and additional sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTQQIA+)

If you are interested in participating in the event, please reach out to: clep@phsa.ca by Friday June 14th 2024. 

Thank you!

 

Our Bereavement Coordinator, Jessica’s, work has included going out into communities that have experienced a suicide loss. Supporting a community through the aftermath of such a loss is a multi-step process that, when done effectively, can make a big difference to those impacted. 

Jessica highlights the importance of bringing together a community as soon as possible after a loss has occurred. “The aim of doing this to bring hope to a place where there was once hopelessness.” It is important to have structure to the first gathering, and have a clear goal and direction. Thinking of it like planting a seed of hope, Jessica considers what tools she can provide to the community, and how they will work with them after she has left.

Suicide loss is unique because it is sudden, aggressive, and violent. These factors cannot be changed. The social stigma that comes with the loss, though, is something that can be changed, and bringing the topic out into the open can help to extinguish the shame that may be felt by those close to a suicide loss.

The question many people ask is “Why?”

Because there is never a good enough answer to this question, Jessica does not dwell on it, focusing instead on the question of how to promote life and move forward. Her role is to bring the community together, build connection, and provide educational support about suicide loss. These things alone can be life supporting. It is also about fostering an understanding that we all grieve the same loss, but we all grieve differently. Life-affirming activities, respecting the needs of others, and staying connected with each other are some steps a community can take towards healing.

Jessica also emphasizes the value of moving beyond the grief of the suicide death, to celebrating and remembering the life of the person. As Jessica says, “One event does not define a life”, and focusing on who the person was beyond their suicide can be healing. 

Finally, it’s about normalizing pain in the path of life. We all experience pain – and what should we do with it? Building capacity to come together and heal from a suicide loss certainly seems like a positive step.

How can we support someone who is grieving the loss of a friend or a family member to suicide? In the immediacy of a suicide loss, providing the right support is important, but can be challenging. Postvention – the work that is done to help family and friends cope with a suicide loss – can make a difference on how the suicide impacts whole communities, including those closest to the loss. 

Over the past year, we have worked to offer postvention support in a number of communities. Jessica Wolf Ortiz has been our Bereavement Coordinator for three years, and has built the program from scratch. Jessica has seen first hand the positive impact this work has had on those involved.

What is postvention, and why is it an important part of the Crisis Centre’s programming? 

Suicide needs to be thought as a process not just an event. In this process we try to protect communities from thoughts of suicide coming up when life becomes challenging. This work is called prevention. 

A crisis line such as ours offers support to people when thoughts of suicide do come up and can or may threaten their lives. This is what we call suicide intervention. 

Lastly, when suicide has sadly happened, postvention is what is needed to support those impacted by its ripple effects. Many, many people are impacted by each suicide; it is difficult to define how many as each experience is unique, but it is always an important number. Having a postvention/bereavement program at the Crisis Centre is important as it acknowledges that everyone who is touched by suicide needs to be supported.

 

How have you approached building out the offerings in your postvention work with the Crisis Centre? How do you believe your work has impacted the communities you have worked with? 

We have built this program on two important pillars: connection and learning. The bereavement program as part of CLE (Community Learning and Engagement) acknowledges that we need to build community, create networks, and offer resources and learning experiences to those impacted by suicide. People who are impacted by suicide have a difficult time finding resources that are specific to their needs (suicide loss is quite particular). People now know of our program and our capacity to offer them support or connect them to the right resources depending on their needs. I do think we have built a community of resonance, sameness and belonging for them, a safe space to land after tragedy has happened. 

 

Do you think there is more that can be done in schools, workplaces and communities to support those affected by suicide loss? What supportive measures can be put in place? 

There is always more to be done as suicide still happens. Hopefully we can create a community postvention model that can be tailored to each community’s needs. The earlier we intervene in a community that has been impacted by suicide, the better we can help them support each other and be self-sustainable. We need more people and professionals trained and educated around suicide loss so we can grow our resources.

 

What role does stigma play in suicide bereavement? How can we address stigma and promote understanding and empathy within the community? 

A huge role! Suicide is still quite misunderstood and stigmatized. People impacted by suicide frequently feel isolated and blamed or judged. This stands in the way of them reaching the right resources and support and adds another layer to the already painful and complex loss. 

An important part of our role in suicide postvention involves destigmatizing suicide to ease the burden they experience. Suicide can happen to anyone… I have seen it in the most loving families and have met the people who have died by suicide in the eyes of their loved ones. No difference between you and I. Reason why we have talked often in our bereavement program about the need to humanize suicide. 

 

What else would you like us to know about postvention? 

That yes, working in postvention does involve working with pain, death and trauma, but we can plant hope where there was hopelessness. Humans have an amazing capacity to touch darkness and appreciate light so much more after. Once a suicide has occurred, there is so much that needs and can be offered to those who stay.