Why we sometimes can’t tell you why SkyTrain service has been disrupted
Posted October 6, 2016 11:16 pm.
Last Updated October 6, 2016 11:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Last weekend, SkyTrain service ground to a halt for hours, but we couldn’t tell you what was really going on.
There’s good reason for that.
Police and the coroner were investigating a suicide on the tracks – something TransLink says happens about three times a year.
UBC psychology professor David Klonsky says there’s good reason why we don’t tell you what’s really going on as it’s happening.
“If we publicize a method that is widely available, we are almost giving people who are in their worst moments, who are in a moment of crisis, we’re giving them a way to attempt suicide.”
But he says there is important information for people in that moment of crisis.
“Most people who attempt and survive will report regretting the attempt immediately. A lot of these methods that ‘work well’ are associated with quite gruesome injuries.”
And why do people end their lives in such public places? Klonsky says when people are desperate, they’re not really giving much thought about where they are – like a SkyTrain station.
Suicide is the number two cause of death for young people in Canada, but Klonsky stresses hope and support are available.
In BC, help is only a call away at 1-800-SUICIDE. Online support can be found at Youth in BC and CrisisCentreChat.
