We know from previous pandemics that it is going to increase. Let me explain the why of that. You're right in the sense that uncertainty and vulnerability are disproportionately impacting people. For example, communities that have precarious employment just like that.... I'm so sorry about that young individual. That economic stress and uncertainty can obviously lead to depression, anxiety and, of course, the risk of suicide. That's going to happen. We know that from past pandemics. We saw that from SARS. We saw that there are populations that are at a higher risk than others.
That's what I was trying to get at, the people who are at high risk. They are essential care workers, whether it's our hospital staff or the people who have been on the front lines. They are the people who have been impacted by COVID, and are absolutely at high risk. There are communities that have been highly impacted by COVID. I mentioned BIPOC people, so people who are precariously employed or have lost employment, or on the front lines, or who have suffered from COVID are at risk.
There is a general increase in anxiety and depression. Women, women with children, families with children, they are all tending to have higher levels of anxiety. We also have youth, and people have been touching on that. My colleague, Mr. Mitchell, was touching on the impact to young people, and the increase in anxiety.
What is that looking like in terms of impacts of social isolation? When social isolation becomes loneliness, that turns into chronic loneliness. When we get into chronic loneliness, that's where we have outcomes that are the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and my cancer colleagues will understand how serious that is.
So, you're right. This is what we are preparing for, which is the fourth wave. What are we trying to do? We're trying to increase immediate access to care, but we have to do it in two formats. First and foremost, we need to be planning and training early. I need people on the ground today, so that they're there tomorrow. I can't wait. We can't wait to have trained workers in language or cultural-specific communities available for people, because if they have to wait, the risk of suicide increases.
What we know, and it's really important to understand, is that somebody could go into a hospital and be discharged. The most at-risk period for suicide is that 30-day period following discharge from a hospital. We must have programs that are available right away to transition people, and that's where you need to bolster the communities. You need trusted community partners that can begin to wrap around supports for these individuals.
Organizations like ours provide counselling, employment, housing and food security. When you look at what we can do in terms of supporting navigation and community supports, we have to work with our hospitals and our acute care centres to stabilize people, but then we have to provide that ongoing care in transition. I know I'm talking to people who know and understand this.
You've got the national suicide prevention strategy starting. It's going to take a while, but my recommendation is that the $50 million investment has to come in immediately, and you've got to put it into the communities that are hardest hit.