One person dies by suicide each week in the Region of Waterloo.
That’s close the national average according to the latest report by the Ontario Chief Coroner’s Office.
Tana Nash, the executive director of the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council, says the number of people struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts is even higher.
“For every suicide death, we have approximately 100 attempts. We’ll never know the exact number because not all of them call the police or show up at the hospital.”
Just a few years ago the number of deaths by suicide in the region rose to 67.
“We 100% don’t know what happened in 2012 and 2013,” says Nash. “We’re certainly working with a lot of partners to identify that. We know there was some economic hardship in the region at that time.”
Nash says middle-aged men are the most at risk of dying by suicide, followed by the elderly.
