In this podcast series, Dr. Jennifer White and Dr. Patti Ranahan discuss findings from their study of the implementation of the Community Gatekeeper provincial suicide prevention training initiative led by CMHA BC.
Their qualitative study was aimed at better understanding the complex processes surrounding implementation, including exploring the challenges and opportunities that arose along the way, and how stakeholders and communities adapted as they pursued a provincially-mandated goal.
Starting in 2015, the three-year Community Gatekeeper project aimed to make BC communities safer by preparing key members of every community with skills to help people who are at risk of suicide. The Community Gatekeeper program was funded by the BC Ministry of Health.
In the first podcast, key findings from the first phase of the study are discussed, including the need to recognize implementation processes as inherently relational and political; and to appreciate that multiple forms of knowledge, wisdom, and stories can be mobilized in a meaningful way to instil hope and momentum in moving an initiative forward.
In the second podcast, Patti outlines findings from the second phase of the study, which involved field observations with four regional coordinators located in different areas of the province.
In this final podcast, researchers Dr. Jennifer White and Dr. Patti Ranahan discuss overall impressions of the program and the language and metaphors used in describing and understanding the program and how it can help individuals and communities.
Dr. Patti Ranahan is an Associate Professor in Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Her research focuses on the examination of youth workers’ experiences of, and responses to, adolescent suicidality, suicide prevention education, mental health literacy development of professionals and its application to child and youth care contexts.
Dr. Jennifer White is a Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. Jennifer has worked in the human services sector for over two decades and she has practiced in the field of youth suicide prevention since 1988. Jennifer has worked as a clinical counsellor, educator, policy consultant, researcher, and community developer.