The Living Nature of Living Hope – Highlights from the Collaborative Renewal Process
Pieter de Vos, PhD
Author: Pieter de Vos, PhD
In early December 2021, Lahn Jones and Sheena Abar-lyamu from the Living Hope Implementation Team approached me with a request to assist with the refresh of the suicide prevention implementation plan. The assignment was to support the Steering Committee to review and, where necessary, update the goals, objectives, and priority actions in the community-based plan. The team includes dedicated partners from multiple sectors, community voices, and individuals with lived experience who are committed to preventing suicide in Edmonton.
I was thrilled at the prospect of supporting this initiative, because I had been blessed to design and facilitate the public participation processes in 2015 that that led to the Edmonton Suicide Prevention Strategy and the consultations in 2017 that informed Living Hope. The previous work is close to my heart, so I leapt at the opportunity to support the next iteration of the plan.
Over the course of five months, I worked closely with Lahn and Sheena to facilitate the meetings with the Steering Committee. The renewal process was guided by the appreciation that the bones of the initial plan are strong. Most of the priorities remain relevant, although adjustments are required to ensure that they fit the current context, including post-COVID recovery and the shifting socioeconomic realities in Edmonton. We also recognized that the next plan needs to continue to support collective action, collaboration, and long-term sustainability.
With these considerations in mind, the Steering Committee dove into assessing the current plan. The conversations were rich and produced several broad recommendations, including:
The Steering Committee confirmed the importance of awareness-building and training to support suicide prevention in Edmonton. Normalizing conversations around suicide in the community was identified as an important objective.
Building networks of support and allyship was identified as essential for creating safe spaces. The Committee also highlighted the importance of language and two-way communication. We need to engage in culturally responsive ways across multiple channels. Increasing the understanding of Indigenous culture and history was identified as a priority.
The Committee reinforced that future work must be proactive and must continue to leverage strengths in the community. This includes working through community support systems to build on protective factors and address shared risk factors.
While the importance of prevention was recognized, participants identified the importance of moving services even further upstream. This includes animating peer-to-peer support and building the capability of natural helpers.
This aligns with the general observation that we need to resist the “professionalization of care” by recognizing that communities (informal support systems) can be empowered to take more active roles in prevention, intervention, and postvention support.
Steering Committee members identified the shifting nature of vulnerability and the overlapping factors that contribute to vulnerability. A better understanding of shared risk and protective factors was seen as essential for building community capacity.
This highlighted the need for ongoing efforts to breakdown service silos and support better integration. Collaboration, iteration, and continuous learning are keys to ongoing success.
These recommendations demonstrate the value of Living Hope’s commitment to building a plan from the bottom up. By engaging diverse voices in the creation, renewal, and direction-setting process, the plan is truly “living” and “hope-filled.” Thanks to the Steering Committee and to Sheena and Lahn for giving me an opportunity to join in this transformational effort to address suicide in Edmonton.