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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 19, 2007 - 9 Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition unveils new website By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The message of suicide prevention in Halton moved to a new medium earlier this month with the creation of the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition's new website. Released on May 10 www.suicidepreventionhalton.ca contains everything from various facts and figures related to suicide in Canada to a long list of contact numbers for services people can call when in crisis. "Our role is to educate people," said Margaret Mercer, member of the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition who has also lost a loved one to suicide. "We're not 911, we're not an emergency service, but suicide itself can be brought on by an number of different illnesses and causes. So, anyone who is feeling suicidal and hasn't had a diagnosis or isn't dealing with a medical professional, they can go on the website and it can direct them to a lot of resources and assistance within the community." Statistics on this website show that suicide is an issue in the Halton region with an average of 28 self-inflicted deaths each year and 420 hospitalizations each year from attempted suicides. While the website helps people contemplating suicide learn where they can turn, this is not the only audience the website has in mind. In one chilling statistic found on the website, it is announced that for every person who dies by suicide at least 10 family members, friends or colleagues are directly affected. It is to these devastated people who are left behind that another section of the website is dedicated. "There are very few places for them to turn to deal with it," said Mercer, who knows this situation all too well. "The feelings of having a family member take their own life, there is such phenomenal grief and a different depth of grief." This section of the website includes a list of the feelings people may experience when someone they know dies by suicide, which include shame, guilt, loneliness, depression and disbelief. The website also lists ways the person can cope with the loss by acknowledging the death was a suicide, by speaking of the loved one and remembering that they are not responsible for the loved one's suicide. The meeting times and places of the support group Survivors of Suicide, which helps people who have lost loved ones to suicide, is also listed. Warning signs that someone is about to attempt suicide are also listed and include neglect of personal appearance, sudden weight gain/loss, feelings of worthlessness or being a burden, putting affairs in order, withdrawal from friends, etc. With such a stigma around suicide, the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition has high hopes that by putting this vital information on a website, people will access it who may have been too embarrassed to go to a public seminar. "It gives you the ability to find your resource in a much more intimate manner. If you're sitting at home and you don't have the ability or the desire to get out you can go on the Internet and we provide you with the information at your own discretion," said Mercer. Through this website Mercer hopes to spare other people the pain she and other members of her coalition have gone through. "A couple of us on the coalition have had family members take their lives and in hindsight we know what we would have done but at this point all we can do is say, `We should have done this, we should have done that,'" she said. "The best thing to do with someone who is feeling suicidal or says, `I feel like killing myself,' is to say to them, `Do you have a plan,' and talk to them about it and draw them out. This is information that we have on this website." While the website provides resources for people dealing with issues related to suicide, Mercer admits it is not equipped to handle people who are actively thinking about taking their own lives. The home page of the website actually has a disclaimer noting where people in such desperate situations can get a much quicker response. `If you or anyone you know is feeling suicidal, call 911.' 905-844-9831