In oil-rich Alberta, known as the Texas of Canada, a wave of job losses across the province has led to a 30 percent increase in suicides. The province usually sees 500 suicides annually, already an abnormally high figure nationwide, but in accordance with how the year has gone so far, 2015's figures are likely to reach 650 by year's end. Alberta is currently conducting a mental health review to assess the breadth of resources provided by the province to help those with mental health issues. Governing bodies realized the system is overstretched and inadequate, so $10 million has been committed to help the issue and will be used to build up the system of support for addiction and mental health issues, according to Global News.
"What the numbers are telling us is that things have changed in Alberta over the last year or so," said David Grauwiler, the provincial executive director for the Canadian Mental Health Association. "We really need to be thinking about workplace mental health. We need to be thinking about how people are impacted when their jobs are lost and what kinds of supports need to be there."
This lack of resources is manifested in overcrowded emergency rooms and mental health centers. Twenty-five percent of calls to the Edmonton Support Network go unanswered due to a lack of funds and personnel, and calls to the Calgary Distress Centre have increased by 80 percent, reported the Huffington Post.
This year brought massive layoffs in the energy sector, and counsellor David Kirby said calls to the Calgary Distress Centre increased in frequency and urgency. "For me, it says something really about the horrible human impact of what's happening in the economy with the recession and the real felt effect, the real suffering and the real struggle that people are experiencing," he said, according to CBC News.
