By Chris Brown

National guest speaker

Virtual conversation to connect with school communities about suicide

Oct 6, 2020 | 11:40 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Local school boards, police and other community partners have come together to start a conversation about grief, loss, suicide and mental health.

Connecting with School Communities about Suicide: Hope and Resilience in Southeast Alberta will be a virtual conversation held Oct. 7 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

There has been a series of suicides in recent months in the southeastern Alberta region, affecting families directly and also those working to prevent further loss. Children in the community are also feeling the burden of these tragedies and don’t always communicate their concerns.

Locals have collaborated with national specialists in the field.

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Guest speaker Kevin Cameron is executive director of the North American Center for Threat Assessment and Trauma.

Cameron said that sometimes a child realizing that they’re not the only one thinking and feeling a particular way can actually help to reduce any feelings they do have.

“Generally speaking, suicide is about a profound level of hopelessness and a belief that nobody can actually understand or relate. And we want the real-world experience t be more relatable so that folks don’t need to come anywhere close to that line,” he said.

WATCH: Connecting with School Communities about Suicide: Hope and Resilience in Southeast Alberta

One of the things Cameron will emphasize tonight is the power of a meaningful conversation.

“A lot of parents kinds of default o thinking ‘I have good connection with my kids and if they need to talk then they know that they can come and talk to me,'” said Cameron. “But sometimes around issues as complex as suicidality or the reasons for it, some kids plain and simple are kind of looking for fertile ground. Like is this safe for me to talk are they prepared to receive it. And we see that for instance when a particular tragedy occurs a parent or caregiver might have made a comment about their thoughts on depression suicide and maybe it was so negative they don’t realize that their own child is struggling with it.”

Cameron says he’ll speak about the importance of parents being “genuine in our thoughtfulness” when asking children how they’re doing.

Cameron is also a family therapist and likes to caution parents about a bit of myth that exists that says once kids are adolescents that they don’t want anything to do with their parents or caregivers. But at the core, kids need parents far more than parents realize.

“They may act in ways that suggest they don’t but at the core, especially when they’re distressed they want to know that they can come to us (parents),” he said.

School division psychologists Claire Petersen from Medicine Hat Public School Division and Greg Godard from Prairie Rose School Division will also participate in the Wednesday session.

This meeting of parents and caregivers is a first step to create local leadership to:

• Assess the current situation,
• Understand the added dynamics of a worldwide pandemic on risk,
• Educate each other on best practices for our region,
• Discuss immediate and long-term interventions,
• Identify pathways to local helping service for consultation and support

Those interested in attending must fill out a registration form before 1 p.m. on Oct. 7. Further details, including a link to the event, will be shared after registration.