A candid, compassionate and hopeful conversation with Media Producer , Speaker and Activist Cal Campos, Senior Editor Mikaela Brewer, and 'Life Outside the Box' hosts Asante and Abbigale.

Activation Warning: This episode discusses mental health, including discussing suicide and suicidal ideation, loss, and grief. Our discussion may activate folks with similar lived experiences, beyond what feels safe to spend time with. Please engage with this podcast episode how/whenever it feels safe for you.

Resources:
Ontario non-police mental health services
Canadian Centre for Suicide Prevention + research roundup
Toronto Community Crisis Service - Call 211
Call & Text 988
ANCHOR (Alternative Neighbourhood Crisis Response)

Statistics:
Per year, a range between 1/10 - 1/20 have considered suicide (5-10% of the population) & ~4,000 die. The number of total deaths per year has increased, but deaths per 100,000 have decreased from ~12 in 2000 to ~9 in 2023. These statistics are not necessarily inclusive & are categorized by M/F (CSP Cross Canada Statistics, 2023)
Trans & non-binary communities: 30% reported suicidal ideation & 4% reported a suicide attempt (Santos et al., 2025), though this is a decline.

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Thanks for listening! And let's keep the conversation going on Youth Mental Health.

Questioning the Systems We're In: Empowering Honest Conversations about Suicide