Conference on northern suicide prevention filled to capacity – StarPhoenix
More than 500 youth from across northern Saskatchewan will gather in Saskatoon this week to talk about the region’s suicide crisis and share thoughts on what can be done to empower kids and save lives.
Interest in the two-day Ignite the Life conference has been so great that organizers had to tell at least 300 young people that registration is full.
“The door is busting down,” said Treena Wynes, one of the conference organizers. “It just shows the urgent need there is in the province.”
Wynes, a member of Lac La Ronge Indian Band, began putting the conference together in the fall after a rash of suicides in northern Saskatchewan made national headlines. Five indigenous girls between the ages of 10 and 14 committed suicide in the communities of Stanley Mission, La Ronge, Deschambault Lake and Makwa Sahgaiehcan during the month of October and many other youths were believed to be at risk of attempting suicide.
