A new program is designed to empower Island youth with knowledge, skills and tools to better understand and manage mental health and suicide.
Announced on World Suicide Prevention Day, the P.E.I. division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) has been working for three years on ACTT for Life — which stands for ask, care, talk and tell.
It will replace an older program, which was used for the last 20 years and which hadn’t been updated in the past 12, said Pat Doyle, manager of suicide prevention and life promotion with the CMHA’s P.E.I. division.
“That was a great program, but we know that the ways that young people are communicating, the way that they’re communicating about distress, changed — we want that reflected in our programming.”
ACTT for Life
The program is an 80-minute presentation, punctuated by testimonial videos and a dramatization filmed at Birchwood Intermediate School in partnership with FilmPEI. Between the videos, students will engage in discussions and a handful of activities to reinforce what they learn.
More than just an update of the old program, it has been built from the ground up on P.E.I. and has been based on research completed over three years — down to the logo and acronym, said Doyle.
“Somebody seeing the logo, it’s a learning tool just in itself. Ask, care, talk, tell – it can save a life.”
Modernizing the material meant more than just new technology, she said.
“Also, our evolving communities; we wanted our audio/visuals to reflect our Island communities in terms of ethnic diversity, cultural diversity, gender diversity.”
One example is the suggestion for young people to tap into their own cultural traditions as a coping mechanism.
AT A GLANCE:
ACTT for Life Steps to Helping:
- Ask: It’s OK to ask directly about thoughts of suicide when a friend has changed in ways suggesting they may be struggling with thoughts of suicide.
- Care: Show care and listen with empathy about problems, feelings, mental health struggles and suicide.
- Talk: Encourage friends to talk to a trusted adult who can help them stay safe.
- Tell: Sometimes, it’s important to tell a trusted adult about a friend’s thoughts of suicide to keep them safe.
Safety
Given the nature of the subject material, the safety of the students is of the highest importance. Schools have to complete a safety checklist before anyone with the program steps foot inside the school. Part of the list includes notifying students and parents of the presentation, as well as letting Doyle and her team know of any recent incidents of suicide.
“We wouldn’t want to be going into a community that has recently had a huge loss to suicide. That’s not the time to talk about prevention. That’s the time you provide care and comfort to families and communities.”
The program and its messaging will be a great resource for Island youth to manage their mental health, said Health and Wellness Minister James Aylward.
“Lots of demographics in our population struggle, but in particular youth … they’re facing so much more pressure, I find, then say, when I was their age,” he said.
“Any program that we can do to reach out to our youth is extremely beneficial.”
While the province has invested, the numbers were not readily available, though Doyle did say the program received an annual $25,000 over three years from Medavie Blue Cross toward the development of ACTT for Life.
