Youth suicide is the 2^nd leading cause of death, amongst young people aged 15 to 24 in Canada. It is the second leading cause of death, and Canada’s youth suicide rate is the third highest amongst OECD nations. Nearly two-thirds of youth said their mental health got worse since the pandemic. The time for action to help our youth is now.

We believe we can save more lives by working together.

CMHA Waterloo Wellington is pleased to work with a group of diverse experts on the Ontario Youth Suicide Prevention Life Promotion Collaborative, with the aim to ensure Ontario's children and youth and those who support them have access to the latest evidence-informed, practical knowledge to effectively guide and help integrate efforts in youth suicide prevention and life promotion.

Research indicates there are some promising practices in youth life promotion and suicide prevention – and the Collaborative wants to make sure that these best practices are shared in a timely, integrated, and fulsome way with those who are working in the community with youth. Knowledge is power. Talking about mental health saves lives.

The Collaborative will provide a trusted and unified voice to youth suicide prevention and life promotion efforts that is grounded in evidence and takes a community-based province-wide approach – an approach that didn’t exist before.

The Collaborative will continue to leverage its collective expertise and networks to effect meaningful, upstream change within priority determinants of health for youth in Ontario.