NEED2 Suicide Prevention Education & Support
2390 Arbutus Road V8N 1V7 Victoria, BC, Canada

From middle school to high school and beyond, our Youth Suicide Prevention program starts the conversation about mental health early on, and works to ensure our young people know where, when, and how to access support when they need it - we couldn't do it without the support of funders like the City of Victoria. Thank you!! #YYJ #suicideprevention

"As hard as we try, we'll never be able to fully shield youth from the hard things that life will throw at them. We can however give young people tools to cope with life's challenges in healthier ways... Teaching children these skills while they're still young is vital in protecting their mental health as they grow. [Through Mindfulness for Middle School], we give youth power over their emotional experience and empower them to care for their own mental wellness. With the help of your $25 donation, we can provide one mindfulness training session for an entire class of grade 5 or 6 students." Thank you for all of your support with our fundraiser so far - we are only $150 away from our goal of raising $1000! To help out, donate here: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/56586 and/or give this post a share!

Can you see their joy even with the masks on?! NEED2 Operations Manager Maria Weaver was delighted to be presented with such a generous contribution from Community Manager AJ Delisle with the RBC Foundation. Thank you so much for your support of Youthspace.ca, RBC !

We wouldn't be able to keep Youthspace.ca up and running 365 days of the year without funders like The Victoria Foundation and BC/Yukon Command of the Royal Canadian Legion - thank you to all of our funders who help us help young people!

Have you ever wondered just how far your donation goes? For only $20, you can cover the cost of one chat on Youthspace.ca, and give the gift of connection to a young person who is struggling. Today only, on #GivingTuesdayCA, CanadaHelps will add an additional $2 to donations of $2 or more! https://tinyurl.com/y3vqc367 to donate #GivingTuesday #yyj #suicideprevention

"I hope that one day we live in a world where all trans youth feel understood, included, supported, and hopeful." <3 Please check out this local fundraiser in honour of a young trans person who lost her life to suicide this month. We need to work together to ensure that trans lives are cherished and protected. Proceeds go to The Tipping Point, NEED2's Youth Suicide Prevention Program, and towards a fund for two siblings in our community who recently lost their trans sister to suicide: https://www.gofundme.com/f/victoria-transgender-youth-suppo

UPDATE: Our instant messaging service is officially back up and running. Thanks to those who were patient while we dealt with the technical issues, and welcome back to online chatting! Please visit youthspace.ca to connect. We look forward to hearing from you.

First West Foundation is proud to provide grants through the Island Savings Community Endowment, and we are honoured to receive their support of our Youth Suicide Prevention program. Thank you, #FirstWestFoundation!

Sharing gratitude for the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation and their support of Youthspace.ca! We couldn't support the thousands of youth that we do each year without our incredible volunteers - support from the TFFF will help us make sure they can (safely and virtually!) receive the training they need to be there for the young people who need them most. #FriendlyFuture

COVID-19 has presented all sorts of challenges we could have never anticipated. HUGE thank you to Tesseract 2.0 for helping us get some new tech equipment that will make working from home that much easier. <3

For every one life lost to suicide, an immeasurable number of lives are forever changed. Today, are hearts are with the loved ones of those who have been lost to suicide. Moving through grief usually doesn’t happen quickly or even completely, and you may need company and support along your journey. It can be powerful to connect with other people who have experienced loss due to suicide, and a relief to be able to talk about suicide with people who ‘get it’. If you or someone you know has lost a loved one to suicide, you can find more information about our monthly peer support group, Support for Suicide Loss, here: https://need2.ca/programs/support-group/

NEED2 Suicide Prevention Education & Support is pleased to receive an $18,000 grant from the Bell Let's Talk Community Fund to further develop and expand the Youthspace.ca Follow-Up Program! Youthspace.ca is an online support network for young people up to 30 years old. The site offers youth in crisis a number of different methods of communication to meet their needs including chat & text, a discussion forum and e-counselling. The Follow-Up Program provides youth who have v...isited Youthspace.ca and indicated they may be at risk of suicide or self-harm but are able to stay safe for the night, the option of a text the following day from a Youthspace volunteer. The young person will be able to chat with a professional volunteer who will assess how they’re doing. Research has shown a follow up can decrease feelings of being a burden in the help-seeker and strengthen the connection between Youthspace.ca and our visitors, said Justine Thomson, Executive Director of NEED2. We are so excited to be able to expand this program and connect even more youth with our services thanks to the support from the Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund. Last year alone, our 120 Youthspace volunteers took over 4,500 chats, and provided emotional support for 180 youth in the Greater Victoria area, said Maria Weaver, Operations Manager at NEED2. Our volunteers get to see firsthand the real impact Youthspace can have on a young person’s life. They hear things like: `I just feel like I need some extra support right now. Nights would be a lot tougher to get through without you guys,’ and, `I've made a contact in my phone for your organization, I labelled it "Hope ’. Bell Let’s Talk is pleased to help NEED2 Suicide Prevention Education & Support expand the Youthspace.ca Follow-Up Program so that more at risk youth living on South Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands can get the support they need, said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. The Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund supports a diverse range of community-based organizations throughout the country, like NEED2, that are taking action to improve access to mental health care and working to make a positive difference through evidence-based programs that meet the needs of their communities. Bell Let’s Talk promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace initiatives. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth in BC. NEED2’s goal is to be one part of a caring community that works together to change this heartbreaking statistic.

The World Health Organization’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus announced a global call-to-action to begin redressing the historic neglect of mental health. He continues, We are already seeing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s mental well-being[] Unless we make serious commitments to scale up investment in mental health right now, [the] consequences will be far-reaching. In the CRD alone, a staggering 12% of youth will consider suicide this ...year - and that HALF of those kids will act on those thoughts. Funding prevention education and crisis support is lifesaving. NEED2 Suicide Prevention Education & Support supports an average of 3500 youth in middle and high school classrooms on the South Island with Suicide Education and Awareness and Mindfulness programming. The agency’s 125 active volunteers supported youth on over 4500 chats on Youthspace.ca, a pan-Canadian text and chat service in operation since 2008. This #WorldMentalHealthDay, you can invest in the future of our children and youth by making a donation to NEED2. Donations are welcomed at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/10373 Youthspace.ca is available to youth under 30 (6 midnight PST) via chat or text 778-783-0177 If you are struggling or worried someone else, you can reach out to Vancouver Island Crisis at 1-888-494-3888.

Today on #OrangeShirtDay2020, we honour Residential School survivors, those children who lost their lives at the hands of colonial violence, and the Indigenous communities who continue to suffer the consequences of this irreparable harm. #EveryChildMatters

Happy Fall! This year's Foggy Isle Film Festival is LIVE tomorrow, Sept. 24th! Tune in for some hilarious horror and darkly funny shorts... at your own risk Proceeds will be generously donated to NEED2 foggyislefilms.com for more info!

So great to see Y Mind Vancouver Island provide folks 18-30 years with support and tools to help cope with stress and anxiety. Check it out and share! https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/vancouve//search #YYJ #mentalhealthawareness

Today on #WorldSuicidePrevention, our hearts are with all of those who have been impacted by suicide loss. Reach out to your friends and family, educate yourself and others about mental health and suicide, and talk openly about mental health. All of this is #SuicidePrevention

Happening tomorrow! Are you tuning in?

Tune in on #WorldSuicidePreventionDay, September 10th, to this cross-Canada virtual concert. Show your support for suicide awareness and prevention and enjoy the work of these talented musicians. Each year this event is so well done and incredibly moving, and we are sure this year will be no different.

The Suicide Education Awareness Program (SEA) is currently recruiting volunteers for their September volunteer training group! If you are a empathetic, compassionate person that has an interested in sharing knowledge and breaking down the stigma around mental health struggles and suicide, please go to http://need2.ca/support-us/volunteer/ for more information and details on how to apply!

If you did not have a chance to tune in the other day but still wanted to watch the interview that our Volunteer Coordinator Daria Patterson did with Nisha Khare and the Stigma-Free Society - SFS, you can find the full video here!

Tune in tomorrow at 11am PST to hear our Youthspace.ca Volunteer Coordinator Daria Patterson talk about our organization, as well as her own journey with mental health!

If you or someone you know is passionate about mental health and is interested in volunteering, we at Youthspace.ca are now taking applications for our Septembe...r Volunteer Intake! Youthspace.ca is a place for any youth across Canada under the age of thirty that is experiencing any sort of crisis can come in to talk. Our compassionate volunteers are online every single evening of the year to provide confidential, empathetic, and non-judgemental support through instant messaging and test messaging. If you are interested in joining the team, please go to www.youthspace.ca/volunteer for more information and details on applying!

COVID-19 has brought about lots of changes and challenges for non-profits like ours, and we're incredibly lucky to receive grants that can help us continue doing this lifesaving work through such uncertain times. First West Foundation is proud to provide grants through the Island Savings Community Endowment - thank you, #FirstWestFoundation! #yyj #mentalhealth

Justine Thomson from NEED 2: Suicide Prevention Education & Support recently sat down with our CEO, Veronica Carroll as part of our 'Ask the Expert' blog series... to discuss how this vital organization is adapting its programming amidst COVID-19. They discuss how parents can encourage their teenagers to reach out for support, and how Need2 is providing Island families with hope during this challenging time. Warning: The post you are about to read mentions some sensitive topics which may be triggering to some individuals. Read our 'Ask the Expert' interview here: https://bit.ly/3aVOmij