Living Hope Launches Awareness Campaign

Each September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, but this year Edmonton did something a bit different. The 11 of Us campaign was launched, and City Council proclaimed it Suicide Prevention Day in Edmonton. The suicide prevention awareness campaign, designed by ZGM Modern Marketing Partners, was developed by community members who sat on Living Hope committees, took part in focus groups, and in other methods of contribution.

Unlike other mental health campaigns, the goal of 11 of Us isn’t to target those in need of help, but rather the general public. Its main goals are to raise awareness about suicide, make the public familiar with some key warning signs that someone may be considering suicide, and highlight the resources available to respond to this need. 

The campaign is anchored around a website (11ofus.ca). Not only is the website a helpful resource for sharing information about suicide and where to get help, but it also has information about sponsored suicide prevention training and education available in Edmonton. Courses available include Applied suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Safe Talk, QPR, Trauma Informed Care, and more. 

On September 10, local dignitaries from City Council, the Edmonton Police, the Canadian Armed Forces, joined community members, people with lived experience, community agencies, and others in City Hall to listen to Councillors Scott McKeen and Aaron Pacquette, and mental health advocate Blake Loates speak about the importance of challenging stigma and increasing awareness. In an interview with Postmedia, mental health advocate, Blake Loates, said, “We’re now willing as a community and a city to shine a light into some really dark areas.” She added, “Suicide is something that we typically don’t speak very openly about and it’s pretty remarkable that the City of Edmonton is willing to say that this is a problem and we need to solve it.”  

The campaign ran until early 2020 and will return for another stint in September 2020.