NEED2 Suicide Prevention Education and Support works to prevent death by suicide, combat stigma, and improve mental health by providing in school and community education, and on-line emotional and crisis support. Currently these services are primarily youth focused. NEED2's education services are exclusively delivered in BC--primarily in the Greater Victoria area. Our in school programs currently target the whole school community and we provide classroom presentations and gatekeeper training and awareness. On-line, we provide Youthspace.ca--a youth focused web site provides preventative mental health support, emotional support and crisis intervention through one-to-one on-line chats delivered by professionally trained volunteers. Volunteers are able to offer supportive listening, assess risk and create collaborative safety plans, and connect youth to other resources in the community. Youth also participate in a moderated discussion forum where they can post and reply to each other on topics ranging from school and relationships to self-harm and suicide. Staff review all posts before they are posted on the forum to ensure that posts are appropriate and that the space is kept safe for all who participate. Users may choose to connect to e-counselling, a professional service provided by a partner agency.
