How to cause more suicides...

[Ezzy]

Canada suicide hotline to open only from 9 to 5

TORONTO - A Canadian province will shut its 24-hour suicide hotline and replace it with one that operates only during business hours.

Prince Edward Island, a small province on Canada's East Coast, says it is too expensive to operate the hotline around the clock. Starting June 1, it will be open only between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The plan drew protest from mental health groups across the country on Wednesday.

"How many times, when you get upset or worried or concerned about things, is it in the middle of the day? It's usually at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning when you wake up," said Joan Wright, executive director of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention based in Edmonton, Alberta.

The hotline received about 1,400 calls a year and about 50 were from people contemplating suicide, health groups said.

"One of the things I was hearing is the government felt there weren't enough suicide-related calls," Wright said.

Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province with a population of about 137,000 people, is trying to tame its budget deficit. The hotline cost about C$30,000 ($24,000) a year to run.

"It's a very small amount of money in our view," said Reid Burke, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

"(Given) the economic cost of a suicide, if governments pay attention to dollars and numbers, not what happens to people, it just doesn't make sense."


I wonder if it would not be a better option for all the provinces to join together, and pay for a country wide phone line. I would bet that all the provinces have the same trouble, but that a 24 hour hotline available country wide would be an advantage to all 12 provinces, if it costs $24,000 per province and they can't afford that much per province, 12 x 24,000 = $288,000 and for even half that they would be able to do a lot of good works, if the telephone companies all assisted in the avalability of a cheap or no cost phone line for them.

 

[bisexplicit]

*sighs* Thats one thing that Canada really does to piss me off. Their mental health track record is not so good...and I really don't like the fact that their "universal health care" doesn't cover mental health.

 

[Quoll]

It`s not just Canada, where I live we have a 24 hour sexual assault hotline, only problem is, after working hours you get an answering machine. It can take some people years to get up the courage to ring these hotlines, imagine the feelings they have when they are finally ready to talk to someone, to unburden themselves and they get a fucking answering machine.
Beeeep " Hi this is ***** I`ve been sexually abused for years and I really feel like killing myself right now, if only I had someone to talk to..... oh well, should you get this message before I do kill myself please ring me back on........well no I `m actually to afraid to leave my number so..... well goodbye then." You can bet your arse even if they don`t harm themselves they most likely wont ring again.

 

[wicked woman]

Hey! Some of the hospitals in our smaller towns have 'emergency' departments that are only open Monday to Friday 9-5!

And our healthcare does cover some mental health treatment, but you're right, like most people, we still like to see the physical injury before we 'know' it's real.

 

[wicked woman]

It`s not just Canada, where I live we have a 24 hour sexual assault hotline, only problem is, after working hours you get an answering machine. It can take some people years to get up the courage to ring these hotlines, imagine the feelings they have when they are finally ready to talk to someone, to unburden themselves and they get a fucking answering machine.
Beeeep " Hi this is ***** I`ve been sexually abused for years and I really feel like killing myself right now, if only I had someone to talk to..... oh well, should you get this message before I do kill myself please ring me back on........well no I `m actually to afraid to leave my number so..... well goodbye then." You can bet your arse even if they don`t harm themselves they most likely wont ring again.

quoll...many years ago I used to volunteer at a Sexual Assault Crisis Centre...to keep confidentiality of the volunteers, if you were on call (and it WAS 24/7), we had to carry a pager. I can't remember if the answering service patched the caller in directly to us when we called back (which would be in minutes) or if they gave us a phone number to call back. I'm thinking it had to be the first one. It's cruel to say, but I can understand it may be difficult to get people to 'volunteer' to work a night shift...and they rarely have money to pay people to cover the phones. Doesn't mean I disagree with your disgust at not having the service available when needed.

 

[Quoll]

quoll...many years ago I used to volunteer at a Sexual Assault Crisis Centre...to keep confidentiality of the volunteers, if you were on call (and it WAS 24/7), we had to carry a pager. I can't remember if the answering service patched the caller in directly to us when we called back (which would be in minutes) or if they gave us a phone number to call back. I'm thinking it had to be the first one. It's cruel to say, but I can understand it may be difficult to get people to 'volunteer' to work a night shift...and they rarely have money to pay people to cover the phones. Doesn't mean I disagree with your disgust at not having the service available when needed.

At least the pager system was something, one particular person I was with when she rang the hotline, was given about three different numbers to ring or else choose a few other options, but she was in no state to take any of that in and she hung up and refused to have anymore to do with it. (She felt she had been let down once again)
I meant no disrepect to any staff or volunteers, most of them go above and beyond what they are asked to do and sadly the funding to these centres is usually very basic.
On one occasion I was speaking with a counsellor at a sexual assault centre and remarked that I had heard an advert on the radio stating that the government was giving them a reasonable amount of funding and that the extra amount of money should come in handy. She told me that the funding they were talking about was what they recieved every year, there was no extra money, it was just politically expedient to mention it at the time.

I admire your courage to be a volunteer, that`s a hard thing to deal with sometimes.

 

[wicked woman]

At least the pager system was something, one particular person I was with when she rang the hotline, was given about three different numbers to ring or else choose a few other options, but she was in no state to take any of that in and she hung up and refused to have anymore to do with it. (She felt she had been let down once again)
I meant no disrepect to any staff or volunteers, most of them go above and beyond what they are asked to do and sadly the funding to these centres is usually very basic.
On one occasion I was speaking with a counsellor at a sexual assault centre and remarked that I had heard an advert on the radio stating that the government was giving them a reasonable amount of funding and that the extra amount of money should come in handy. She told me that the funding they were talking about was what they recieved every year, there was no extra money, it was just politically expedient to mention it at the time.

I admire your courage to be a volunteer, that`s a hard thing to deal with sometimes.

No offense taken...and I'm sorry that happened to your friend. Hopefully (s)he got the help (s)he needs.

One of the things that used to motivate me to help...but strangely also made it more difficult...was constantly feeling 'there by the grace of God go I'...that it could have just as easily been me.

 

[LadyG]

*sighs* Thats one thing that Canada really does to piss me off. Their mental health track record is not so good...and I really don't like the fact that their "universal health care" doesn't cover mental health.

Since when?

 

[bisexplicit]

Since when?

I'm pretty sure ever since they instated their universal health care system. I mean, they don't cover therapy, at least. I'm sure there are state run institutions, though...however, that doesn't really help your average person out too much.

 

[LadyG]

I'm pretty sure ever since they instated their universal health care system. I mean, they don't cover therapy, at least. I'm sure there are state run institutions, though...however, that doesn't really help your average person out too much.

Umm..they have "instated" anything since around 1965. It covers therapy, it covers your visits to psychiatrist, pretty much everything. If it' s required for treatment, it's covered. As well as out patient sessions and home visits from mental health care workers.

 

[bisexplicit]

Umm..they have "instated" anything since around 1965. It covers therapy, it covers your visits to psychiatrist, pretty much everything. If it' s required for treatment, it's covered. As well as out patient sessions and home visits from mental health care workers.

Really?
'Cause I was just up in Canada trying to figure all that out, and it was said that they don't cover any of that. Does it vary province to province or something?

 

[LadyG]

Really?
'Cause I was just up in Canada trying to figure all that out, and it was said that they don't cover any of that. Does it vary province to province or something?

It could. It's covered in Ontario, I know this because I used to work for the Ministry of Health.

Also, it could depend on the specific problem. The healthcare system covers pretty much everything that is necessary/required. Plastic surger for cosmetic purposes isn't covered but that's a given!