Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Coral Harbour (Jan 23/02) - A week-long workshop on suicide prevention was held in Coral Harbour this past week.

Sponsored through the Community Wellness program, the workshop was facilitated by the husband-and-wife team of Clare and Clara Schnupp.

Clair and Clara Schnupp have been active in the North for 25 years. The couple recently held a suicide prevention work shop in Coral Harbor - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The Schnupps have been active in the North for 25 years.

They were brought to Coral after the hamlet was devastated by three suicides last year.

Clair says the two focus on trying to help young people understand whatever pain they're feeling.

"We encourage them to talk to somebody, whether that be a school counsellor, teacher, friend, relative they trust, clergy -- anybody they're comfortable talking to," says Clair.

"We try to get the message across that it's bad to bottle their emotions.

"Pain and anger cause 95 per cent of all depression, which leads to other things."

The program targeted students from Grade 7 to 12 at Sakku school.

Clair says although progress is being made against suicide at the local level, he hasn't seen any evidence of suicides in the region dropping.

"Suicides tend to go in clusters and that's what happened in Coral during this past year. Now it seems the cluster is over in this community. At least that's what everyone is hoping."

Clair says the chain of events that ultimately leads to the taking of one's life start within the family unit.

Tragic events get pushed into motion when basic childhood needs of belonging and worthiness just aren't met.

"Unfortunately, that's still evident in a significant number of families. That's what we worked on in Coral. Along with helping students, we were also on the radio everyday talking to parents and families."

Clair says young people feeling comfortable enough to talk to their parents is of paramount importance in any healing process.

"In the Suicide Trek report done in the late '90s, 35 out of 46 reasons given for committing suicide were family related," he says.

"If suicide is going to be effectively addressed, it has to begin by meeting the needs of children as they develop. In many cases, when you looked at the family background, these needs just weren't being addressed."