The Cold Lake Bully Free Committee plans to mark International Suicide Prevention Day on Saturday with a candlelight vigil in the FCSS parking lot.
Starting at 7, two parents who lost a son to suicide will be speaking at the vigil, sharing their experience. Globally, the organization behind the day encourages everyone to light a candle in memory of victims of suicide at 8 PM.
In 2009 there were 3,890 suicides in Canada, a rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people. The suicide rate for men was three times higher than that for women. It may surprise some that those aged 40 to 59 had the highest rates out of any group.
The issue of suicide became a major topic of discussion in Alberta late last year, when the provincial suicide rate shot up a staggering 30% in the first half of 2015. Estimates suggest there were roughly 630 suicides in the province that year, nearly a hundred more than the year before.