Continuing the Conversation: Hope and Resilience in Southeast Alberta

Connecting with School Communities about Suicide: Hope and Resilience in Southeast Alberta PART 2

Click here for recorded event

Who: All parents, caregivers and school staff in Medicine Hat and southeast Alberta.

What: Connecting with School Communities about Suicide: Hope and Resilience in Southeast Albert PART 2. Some questions from the first event still need to be addressed, giving us an opportunity to connect with our school communities once again. 

School Division Psychologist Speakers:
Claire Petersen, MHPSD Division Psychologist R.Psych
Greg Godard, PRSD Division Psychologist R.Psych

When: Wednesday, November 4 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Where: Online/Virtual Session - Click here for the link to the online information session.

How do I register for this event? No registration is required for this event, if you plan on attending this information session, please check back on our school division website on Tuesday, November 3 for a link to the live event.

How can I submit a question? There is an option to submit a question for the speakers to address, please click here to submit your question.

Background: As you are probably aware, there have been a series of deaths by suicide in the southeast region of Alberta that have impacted people in our communities and weigh heavy on those who are working to prevent further loss. Many of our children are burdened by these tragedies but not all are communicating openly about their concerns. Since our first session, school based psychology professionals and support teams have been working with families to answer important questions about the following themes:

• Concerns related to pandemic/school-closures and reopening.
• When are my child’s struggles serious enough to warrant the need for more help?
• What are schools doing to address mental health and how do students access supports?
• What community supports are available and how to access them?
• How to have open conversations about suicide with your child/youth.
• How do I help someone who isn’t ready for help?
• Understanding the grief process.
• Impact of social media on children/youth.
• Building resilience in our children/youth.

The goal of the second information session is to:

• Connect with our most valuable community partners – our parents and caregivers.
• Address the questions brought forward since the first Connecting Community session.
• Share conversation starters and tools that parents and caregivers can use to have important and effective conversations about grief, loss and mental health.

We look forward to sharing more information about Part 3 in the coming weeks. Our intention for Part 3 is for school leaders and counsellors to engage with families, staff and students through small and intimate, in-person conversations at schools.