As a follow-up to our series on teen suicide, we include a list of resources.

Tom Riglar, director of development at the Vancouver Crisis Centre, is putting special emphasis on youth concerns during Suicide Prevention Week, May 6 to 12.

His agency, a non-profit group with nine staff and a veritable army of volunteers - 270 at last count - does about 500 high school presentations each year.

The Vancouver School Board works closely with the Vancouver Crisis Centre to educate young people about depression and suicide.  Through his agency and provincial government programs, teachers have been sensitized to look for danger signals in their students, including spoken or written warnings of death or suicide, depression or emotional changes such as withdrawal, moodiness or recklessness.

If a student is referred to the school counsellor with concerns aboutpossible suicidal tendencies - or if they approach the counsellor themselves - there is no beating around the bush, said Scott Laurance, the Vancouver School Board's critical incident response team leader. The counsellor will ask very specifically: "Are you thinking of killing yourself?" If the student answers yes to that question, there is a further assessment made. The next steps are to determine whether the young person has recently suffered a loss or has other reasons for feeling a sense of aloneness, said Laurance.

The other assessment involves the development of a plan to realizesuicidal threats. It is serious enough for a young person to becontemplating suicide. To have gone to the point of considering methods of killing oneself raises the danger to an immediate level, said Laurance. If the counsellor feels there is an imminent danger, the student will be taken to emergency admissions at a hospital.

Unless the student is already in the ongoing care of a mental health professional, the case will usually be referred to mental health officials of the Vancouver/Richmond Health Board or the board's Children's and Adolescents' Response Team.

Laurance noted that Vancouver and the Victoria area have the lowest suicide rates in the province. He speculated that the variety of services available, including the Vancouver Crisis Centre and other agencies, may be credited for part of this success.

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP

The provincial government has published a pamphlet titled "Suicide: What You Need to Know." Although suicidal behavior may appear to strike without warning, the publication says, there is a series of warning signs that should be taken seriously. Some of the signals can include:
* Talking or joking about suicide or death.
* Increased and/or heavy use of drugs or alcohol.
* Making final arrangements, such as giving away prized possessions.
* Participating in high-risk
behavior.
* Changes in social behaviors, such as change in school attendance, decline in academic performance, inability to concentrate, increase in irritability or aggressiveness, wide mood swings, loss of interests and changes in personal appearance and personal care.

For more information on suicide and depression, here are some resources:
* The B.C. Council for Families: Several publications for teachers,
young people and parents are available. Call 660-0675 or toll-free
outside Vancouver at (800) 663-5638, or log on to www.bccf.bc.ca.
* B.C. Safe School Centre: Call 660-7233 or (888) 224-7233 or go online at www.safeschools.gov.bc.ca.
* Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention:
www.compu-smart.ab.ca/supnet/casp.htm.
* Vancouver Crisis Centre: 872-1811 or www.crisiscentre.bc.ca.
* Kids Help Phone: A national, anonymous 24-hour help line in English and French. Call (800) 668-6868. Online at www.kidshelp.sympatico.ca.
* Manual of Best Practices in Youth Suicide Prevention: A B.C.
government publication can be ordered from (250) 387-6409 or (800) 663-6105. Online at www.publications.gov.bc.ca.
* SAFER (Suicide Attempt Follow-up Education and Research): Call 879-9251.
* Suicide Information and Education Centre: Call (403) 245-3900.
Online at www.siec.ca.
* Suicide Prevention Information and Resource Centre (SPIRC): Call 822-0740. Online at www. mheccu.ubc.ca.