The Canadian Mental Health Association Windsor-Essex County will be marking Suicide Awareness Month with a number of events and initiatives this year.
The community walk is back in 2022 and will be held on Sunday, September 25 at the St. Clair College Sportsplex. A full list of events in support of Suicide Awareness Month can be found here. All of the events aim to raise awareness and funds for the organization.
"Everything from our suicide prevention training, we're able to subsidize costs for that, we're able to do awareness activities, we're able to hire staff to deliver the outreach initiatives," said Kim Willis, director of communications and mental health promotions.
Willis said even though recent statistics show suicide numbers are down in the community, these initiatives encourage people to keep the conversation going.
According to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, there were fewer deaths by suicide in 2020 compared to the previous five years however hospital visits due to self-harm have increased.
On Thursday, the Caesars Windsor Cares organization donated $10,000 to the CHMHA for its suicide prevention initiatives.
In addition, CMHA Youth Wellness Hub has been selected as one of two charities benefiting from this year's Tim Horton's Smile Cookie campaign. The money raised through the campaign will help the organization find a permanent home for the program.
