Suicide Prevention Ottawa (SPO)

Last revised: September 06, 2024

Suicide Prevention Ottawa is a group of organizations working together in Ottawa to make services more effective at preventing suicide among children, youth and young adults.

Our work revolves around three key areas of focus:

  • Research
  • Building capacity to prevent suicide and
  • Responding after a suicide (or suicide postvention).

Browse our website to find information on these topics and more, along with resources and links to local organizations that can support suicide prevention training and help respond to suicide in our community.

Suicide Prevention Ottawa does not provide crisis support.

For 24/7 bilingual, crisis support, call the Child Youth and Family Crisis Line at 613-260-2360, or 1-877-377-7775 (outside Ottawa) or call the Crisis Line at 1-866-996-0991.

About us

Suicide Prevention Ottawa (SPO) is comprised of local leaders who have been working together since 1989 to build a community without suicide in Ottawa.

SPO has combined the efforts of The Community Suicide Prevention Network and the Ottawa Suicide Prevention Coalition, two previously separate initiatives that were leading suicide prevention activities in Ottawa. This brings together extensive expertise and leverages resources to allow for a larger impact in preventing suicide in Ottawa.

We use evidence to promote awareness, build capacity and respond effectively to suicide among people of all ages, across the life span.

Various milestones have marked our progress over the years. Each initiative was made possible by the contributions of a collective of organizations, leaders and experts in Ottawa that included families and people with lived experiences, researchers, service providers, administrators and many more, committed to action in preventing, and collectively responding to suicide deaths. 

Programs and services

Together, since 1989 these players have implemented programs and services such as:

  • Training in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and safeTALK throughout the city: a cornerstone of our suicide prevention efforts in Ottawa.
  • Parents Lifelines of Eastern Ontario (PLEO), a peer support and system navigation service for caregivers whose children are experiencing mental health and/or addiction challenges.
  • The know what to do guide, a succinct and thorough pamphlet explaining how to respond when concerned that someone is considering suicide.
  • Multiple Facebook livestream events to support parents to know what to do. These parent education sessions to de-mystify the process of caring for a child who has thoughts of suicide or attempts.
  • Sources of Strength, a peer education program that increases individual and school resiliency and promotes help-seeking among youth.
  • Training to members of the media about safe suicide reporting practices.
  • A Post Suicide Support team to help communities begin to heal after a suicide.
  • Leading a process to build internal and collaborative postvention protocols in local organizations.
  • Development and dissemination of information resource on supporting community in a safe way after a suicide and how to memorialize in a safe way.
  • Online video series about peer support among youth. Supported the development of an online learning tool to educate youth about how to do peer support.
  • Development and implementation of a yearly knowledge mobilization and awareness raising event for World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD).
  • Conferences to highlight local research about suicide prevention.
Training

It can be scary when someone we know or love is having a hard time. Know that there are services and resources that can help you in your role as a support for loved ones.

Training

Suicide prevention training and resources can build our community’s capacity to identify people who are struggling and support them to get help so that they can feel better.

Training community members and peers is an important component of any suicide prevention initiative. Community members who have regular social contact and connections with members of the public could include faith/cultural leaders, elders, teachers, school administrators, counsellors, youth workers, police officers, coaches, probation officers, foster parents, volunteers and others. Given their frequent contact with the public, these community members can act as the eyes and ears on the ground, and work with organizations to identify people who are experiencing risk for suicide and encourage and navigate them to seek help. Gatekeeper training supports people to recognize risk factors, identify people at risk and connect people to services.

  • LivingWorks prepares community members to intervene and prevent suicide with programs such as: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), safeTALK and suicideTALK.
  • CMHA Ottawa offers the suite of Living Works trainings in both official languages. Phone: 613-737-7791.
  • Mental Health First Aid was developed in Australia and adapted for use in Canada. This training program explores:
    • Signs and symptoms of common mental health problems and crisis situations
    • Information about effective interventions and treatments, and
    • Ways to access professional help
    • Find a Mental Health First Aid training near you through the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
  • The Suicide Prevention Resource Centre lists several additional trainings in various formats that build capacity in the community for people who are connected to various groups such as children, Indigenous communities and youth.
  • Organizations that are looking to learn more about how to support people with chronic suicidal thoughts can listen to Dr. Yvonne Bergmans's webinar.

One essential part of preventing suicide is to have a community that is well informed, that cares and that has the confidence to respond when they are concerned. Learn how to better understand how to talk to others about suicide.
Partners and co-ordination

With Suicide Prevention Ottawa (SPO) you’ll find representatives from education, primary care, community health, justice, child welfare, peer support and research all sitting at the same table working together to overcome the challenges our system faces in supporting people who are impacted by suicide.

That’s because when someone struggles with suicide, their need for support doesn’t end at school or in their family doctor’s office. It extends to other areas of their lives where there are opportunities to identify risk, connect to informal and formal supports, and promote strength. This is why the SPO’s success relies on bringing disparate groups of people together to come up with comprehensive strategies to prevent suicide.

You are all welcome to join us as we work towards reducing the harmful impact of suicidal behavior in Ottawa. There are opportunities to join our working groups, attend events, receive information or participate in other ways. Connect with the Coordinator of SPO to discuss what may fit best for you.

While not an exhaustive list, here are some of the many organizations that we collaborate with as part of Suicide Prevention Ottawa:

Suicide Prevention Ottawa is proudly coordinated by Ottawa Public Health. The many partners, residents and individuals with lived and living expertise involved in SPO thank Ottawa Public Health for this co-ordination work.

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