“Our Children Are Sacred” is a Youth Suicide Prevention Course and resource for adults interacting with individuals at risk for suicide. This 2-day interactive course is designed to increase awareness, reduce stigma and provide information about those factors that put people at risk for suicide, while empowering participants to respond appropriately to a person considering suicide.

The program modules, delivered over 2 days, include some of the following topics:

Historical Factors, Trauma, Myths and Stigma, Relationships, Bullying, Cyberbullying, Lateral Violence, Sexual Violence, Warning Signs and Risk Factors, Protective Factors and Youth Engagement, Response, and a Module dedicated to helping communities identify local resources for those in crisis.

For more information contact Program Manager Chrystal Thornton at 

Phone: (306) 314-7750 | E-mail: cthornton@bcrsociety.ab.ca | Ben Calf Robe Society

Module 1 – Introduction and Suicide Defined

Introduces participants to definitions, statistics and the course goals and objectives

Module 2 – Historical Context

Provides participants with a brief overview of the process of colonization and its impact on suicide in First Nations communities

Module 3 – Trauma and Intergenerational Trauma

Provides participants with an understanding of the impact of trauma and how it relates to suicide

Module 4 – Myths, Facts, Stigma

Dispels the myths that surround suicide and provides participants with an awareness of stigma, and the importance of reducing stigma in communities

Module 5 – Relationships, Bullying, Cyberbullying, Lateral Violence, AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Provides participants with an understanding of the importance of healthy relationships, the impact of bullying and cyberbullying on youth and how both increase risk of suicide, and provides participants with some tools to combat lateral violence in communities. 

Module 6 – Sexual Violence

Provides participants with the confidence to respond to disclosures of sexual violence and an increased understanding of the impact of sexual violence on survivors. 

Module 7 – Identity

Provides participants with an understanding of the importance of identity and culture, while also highlighting the importance of both as strong protective factors against suicide. 

Module 8 – Warning Signs and Risk Factors

An overview of the more common warning signs and risk factors for suicide

Module 9 – Protective Factors and Engaging Youth

Provides an overview of protective factors against suicide while highlighting the importance of youth engagement in suicide prevention

Module 10 – Responding to Disclosures

Provides participants with the confidence to hold safe spaces, to start important conversations about suicide, respond appropriately to disclosures of thoughts of suicide, to assess level of risk, and to help those experiencing thoughts of suicide to develop a safety plan.

Module 11 – Resources

To develop a comprehensive list of local resources that persons who are struggling with thoughts of suicide and/or other mental health concerns can access.

Module 12 – Self-care

To discuss the importance of self-care and aid participants in developing their own self-care plans.