Suicide prevention is so much more than just sharing a helpline number

Dear Editor,
Since its launch in 2015, mention has often been made about the Suicide Helpline, although stats are hard to come by, even though releasing them could be an incentive for others to use the helpline. In any case, saving a life can’t solely rely on the person who is at risk — who will most probably never call the helpline. The person who would call the helpline is that someone else who is able to recognise that the person is actually at risk; someone such as a gatekeeper or lay counsellor who is trained to identify suicide warning signs.
And this is so necessary in the context of Guyana, where there seems to be a pattern of ignoring even the most obvious signs on the part of family and friends of those at risk, and/or dismissing suicide ideation as jokes and/or not being serious. Gatekeepers would also help others be able to identify the warning signs, and thus enable circles of understanding that all such signs must always be taken seriously, even if it means erring on the side of caution.
The issue of gatekeepers brings to the fore the concept of collaboration, which has been touted over and over and over by all and sundry, including the Government, as the way to go in small economies like Guyana’s, which cannot afford to roll out the comprehensive mental health and suicide prevention infrastructure and supports. Collaboration is best exemplified by the Gatekeeper’s Programme, which arms communities with lay counsellors who can take proactive action to not only prevent the act of suicide, but to also address various forms of abuse.
The Caribbean Voice is getting ready to launch a national lay counsellor Train- the-Trainer programme next year. Since the Government is best positioned to ensure the logistics necessary for such a programme, we will be reaching out to the requisite Government ministries, agencies and departments to seek partnership, including help to bring on board NGOs, FBOs, CBO, local government agencies and mass-based organisations to ensure not only that the trainers are provided with the skill sets and knowledge base, but to also support them as they then seek to train gatekeepers in every community, once they receive their training. In effect, this can and should be a totally collaborative effort.
Once signs are identified, scope must also be provided to such individuals to talk more, and to give them a response that’s nonjudgmental and really supportive. But this, too, calls for some basic training in empathetic communication, and here again, gatekeepers come into play.
In effect, we need to deepen the mental health literacy of our nation to the point where people become self-aware of the triggers and improvers of their own mental health, like they are with their physical health. And this process starts with gatekeepers who can train others in their communities.
At a recent forum on suicide in Guyana, mention was made of the need for community-based services to tackle suicide. Well, this process can start with gatekeepers, who are the most critical cog in the wheel of suicide prevention at the community level. That is why, too, TCV is also extremely happy that the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), on September 17, launched a virtual course on suicide prevention for primary healthcare workers in the Americas, including the Caribbean.
The course, which is free, self-directed and available in English on PAHO’s Virtual Campus for Public Health (https://www.campusvirtualsp.org/en/), is divided into seven modules, and is based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Intervention Guide for Mental, Neurological and Substance Use Disorders (mhGAP-IG), that include evidence-based interventions to identify and manage priority mental health disorders, including self-inflicted injuries and suicide at the first level of health care.
The Caribbean Voice urges Government to take the lead in providing scope to ensure that, in addition to all primary health care workers, all social workers, welfare officers, teachers and outreach personnel — such as those engaged in youth or women empowerment — take this training.
We encourage activists, NGOs, faith-based organisations and community-based organisations to also use this opportunity to gain the critical skills and knowledge to enhance their suicide prevention activism. And we also urge all media to publicise the link and a message urging the general public to take advantage of this training.
Speaking of the media, we note that Trinidad & Tobago recently launched its National Media Guidelines for Responsible Reporting on Suicide.
While we are aware that significant changes in such reportage have been effected by the local media, reportage is still not where it should be. So we urge the crafting and launch of similar guidelines for the Guyanese media. PAHO has been instrumental in providing relevant training to the local media, and its assistance can be harnessed in putting these guidelines together.

Sincerely,
The Caribbean Voice