Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council
We are a grass-roots group of volunteers united around suicide awareness, prevention, support and education.
Our mission is to provide a culture of hope and support through community events and initiatives in Simcoe County, Ontario and surrounding areas.
WE DO NOT PROVIDE CRISIS SERVICES.
If you are in crisis, please contact Talk Suicide Canada or the CMHA Simcoe County Crisis Services. If it’s an emergency, call 911.
Talk Suicide Canada: Call 1.833.456.4566 Toll free, available 24/7/365 or Text 45645 (available 4 p.m. to midnight ET)
CMHA Simcoe County Crisis Services: Call Local 705-728-5044 or Toll-Free 1-888-893-8333 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
Walk for Hope and Life Promotion
Join us on Saturday, May 27, 2023 from 6pm-8pm for our 11th Annual Walk for Hope and Life Promotion in Downtown Barrie, ON.
Click HERE to download our 2023 invitation and pledge sheet.
In 2010, we began hosting an annual Walk for Hope and Life Promotion. We walk together to remember those we have lost to suicide and to support those who are struggling. The walks take place in downtown Barrie, ON.
There is no fee to register as a walker, however we ask that participants seek pledges. All monies raised go to the Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council to help us fund community events and initiatives.
These walks bring community members together and help open up the conversation about mental health, suicide prevention and awareness and coping with the suicide loss of a loved one.
Click HERE to visit our Facebook page for videos and more of the 2022 walk.
If you would like to make a donation anytime, please click HERE to visit our page at Canada Helps.
World Suicide
Prevention Day
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day – an annual event that was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention, in conjunction with the World Health Organization.
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) has been designated as a way of focusing attention on the problems of suicide world-wide. It offers a chance for everyone to join in promoting understanding about suicide: those impacted by a suicide attempt or loss, family or friends, charitable organizations, professionals, politicians, volunteers and community members.
Our contribution to WSPD has been the installation of memorial benches and trees in local public parks. This is one of the community initatives we support with our fundraising efforts.
The installations we have brought about are located in Rama First Nation, ON (2022), Kinsmen Park, Gravenhurst, ON (2021), Warden’s Park, Alliston (Adjala-Tosorontio), ON (2020), OPP General Headquarters, Orillia, ON (2019), Peacekeepers Park, Angus, ON (2018), Midland Bay Landing Park, Midland, ON (2017) and Heritage Park, Barrie, ON (2016).
Our intentions with these installations are to open up conversations about suicide awareness, prevention and mental health; to break down the stigma of suicide and to provide a place of quiet contemplation to remember loved ones lost to suicide.
Click HERE to visit our Facebook page for photos of the 2022 event at Rama First Nation.
If you would like to make a donation anytime, please click HERE to visit our page at Canada Helps.
Suicide Awareness Conference of Simcoe Muskoka
SAVE THE DATE:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023
Location: Casino Rama
Keynote Speaker: John Rice
Registration information coming soon.
Click HERE to download the
SAVE THE DATE flyer
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day (ISSLD) is an event at which survivors of suicide loss come together to find connection, understanding, and hope through their shared experience. The event features a video documentary that offers a message of hope, growth, resilience and connection, followed by an opportunity for group discussion.
The 2023 ISSLD event will take place on Saturday, November 18. We'll share the details of our 2023 event once they are finalized.
Learn more at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website.
In Canada, approximately 11 people die by suicide every day.
This equals approximately 4000 deaths per year.
(Statistics from the Public Health Agency of Canada.)
We can all help change these statistics.
We can change somebody’s life with just 11 seconds.
It only takes 11 seconds to pick up a phone and start the conversion.
It only takes 11 seconds to show an act of kindness or affection.
It only takes 11 seconds to share a smile.
Together we can all make a difference.
Our challenge to you is to record an 11-second act of kindness, hope, inspiration, caring, mindfulness and upload it to your social media and tag us.
We would love to acknowledge YOUR 11-second Challenge. Our social media channels are: Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • Linkedin • YouTube
Click HERE to download our 11-second challenge poster.
Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Program
We offer a peer support program for adults who have experienced the death of a loved one by suicide.
Our next program begins Thursday, March 23, 2023 and runs until May 25, 2023. The program will take place online via Zoom. Registration is required to participate. For more information or to register, call 705-326-9941 or email us at scsac@hopeequalslife.ca
The FREE 10-week program is designed to help participants make sense of and piece together their disrupted lives. It’s facilitated by trained volunteers who have themselves experienced loss by suicide.
This program is an opportunity to connect with other survivors and talk openly about suicide, with people who really understand what you are going through.
The program runs twice a year, spring and fall. Meetings are held once a week for 2 hours (7 pm – 9 pm) and currently take place online via Zoom.
Meetings include informal conversations and sharing of experiences. Each week a different topic is discussed, such as: unresolved mourning issues, family dynamics, dealing with anger and guilt, and more.
Registration is required to participate. Email us at scsac@hopeequalslife.ca
Click HERE to download our information brochure.
Volunteer with us
The Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council is a place where all voices are heard, people can contribute, make a difference by being involved, heal from family grief and share messages of hope.
Those who come find a caring group of individuals, supportive resources, projects that honour the goal of raising suicide awareness and fundraising that fuels awareness and prevention in our communities.
Those who join the Council find camaraderie, passion and purpose as they work together. Others who access our webpage and resources leave feeling informed, connected and better equipped to continue life and work within a culture where suicide impacts many lives.
If you or anyone you know is looking for a place to contribute alongside a committed group of individuals from various walks of life, we would like to meet you.
Please contact Bernadette Copeland at bmlcopeland@hotmail.com
Donate to Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council
Contact us by email: scsac@hopeequalslife.ca
Or call: 705-326-9941
Thank you to our website sponsor, The Villager magazine.
Visit them here.