The provincial government has unveiled a five-year action plan aimed at reducing incidents of suicide in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The plan, titled ‘Our Path to Resilience’ consists of 12 targeted actions and a commitment to improving monitoring, surveillance, and research aimed at reducing suicide rates.

Statistics on suicide in the province are startling. According to government, between 1981 and 2017, the rate of suicide in the province increased by 234 per cent. The majority of those cases are people who were living with a mental health or substance abuse issue.

Action items in the plan focus on community mental health literacy and capacity building, prevention, intervention, and follow-up services for people impacted by suicide.

According to government, the plan recognizes social determinants of health and their impact on people, including the impact of intergenerational trauma. They say it focuses on an “equity-based approach” to foster health and healing.

Implementation of the plan will be overseen by a provincial steering committee.

Tina Davies, President of Richard’s Legacy Foundation, lost her son to suicide in December 1995. She says the impacts of such a plan are “resounding.”

She says it is wonderful to know support is there and to give the message of hope, “because without hope we’re lost.”