Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'd also like to thank the committee members for having me.
My name is Myriam Lafond and I am managing director of the Crisis Centre and Suicide Prevention of Haut-Richelieu-Rouville.
The centre is in Saint‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu, the city where the military base, the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School and the Royal Military College Saint‑Jean are located.
The centre opened in 1993 and we provide telephone intervention and in‑person follow‑up services for individuals with suicidal ideation or who have lost someone to suicide.
From 2010 to 2015, the centre put together its crisis shelter. It provides two beds for people in crisis.
During the time the crisis beds were deployed, the military base contacted the centre for training. Military police and chaplains therefore received suicide prevention training, and they learned about the full range of services we provide, including the crisis beds. They then asked us to set up a service trajectory.
Since 2015, we have therefore being housing military recruits and serving military personnel who need a break, and try to regain their footing and defuse the crisis they are experiencing, whether suicidal or psychosocial. Our team of counsellors, all of whom have a university degree in counselling, welcome them. Our counsellors are perfectly bilingual, given the proportion English-speaking military personnel that we accommodate. We have a bed reserved for military personnel who are sent to us.
The service trajectory was implemented in cooperation with the 41 Canadian Forces Health Services Centre. All military personnel staying at a crisis centre must first go through this medical centre, which, after assessing them, contacts us to refer them to our services.
Rather than sending these service members to the hospital, it's much better to refer them to a crisis centre that can provide real psychological support, administer specific treatments to defuse the suicidal crisis and help them to regain some control over the situation and the suffering they are enduring.
The fact that we're not military ourselves really allows service members to take a step back and be open about what they're going through. From experience, I would tell you that these are very uprooted people. They generally leave their homes to spend 12, 13 or 14 weeks in Saint‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu in an environment completely different from the one they know. This often generates crises, and going to a non-military crisis centre helps them regain some control over their situation.
The relationships we have with the military base are smooth, necessary and significant. They work well. Over the past two years, we've had a number of military personnel stay with us. We keep them on a weekly basis in their stay can last anywhere from 3 to 10 days until the crisis is resolved and they are able to return to the base or are released from the base if the military is just not for them. So during their time in the centre, they can really step back and see what's best for them, and then make the best choice they can, being fully aware.
That's what I wanted to say to you. I would be very comfortable answering any questions you may have.