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Resources

Multi-sectoral Coalition-building

Creating opportunities for input from a number of diverse perspectives is identified as an important strategy for building broad commitment to the issue of youth suicide prevention. Some youth suicide prevention practices (e.g. media education, gatekeeper training, means restriction, etc.) are best addressed by a broad range of professionals and community members working together. Other youth suicide prevention efforts, like clinical assessment and treatment programs for example, are therapeutic services that are delivered by professional practitioners who have specialized knowledge, skills and interests. Not every component of the local youth suicide prevention effort requires the direct involvement of every individual or group with a vested interest.

In order to advance a comprehensive approach that recognizes that clinical services and treatment approaches are but one aspect of the overall youth suicide prevention effort, we need to find ways to creatively engage the broader community. The view being promoted here is that community-driven youth prevention plans will be more effective than “ready-made solutions” imported from outside if they:

  • evolve out of a consideration of multiple knowledges and realities.
  • reflect the interests of a range of professionals and community members who have respectfully engaged with one another through fair and equitable dialogue.

For ideas about how to initiate and sustain community-wide prevention efforts in your community, check out the Communities That Care program material on the Public Health Agency of Canada website at or through the US Department of Health and Human Services and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHAA) website.