The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

16 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 22, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-845-3824, ext. 248 Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com Filling empty bowls PHOTOS BY NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER FOR HOME SUITE HOPE: Oakville's Empty Bowls fundraiser for Home Suite Hope, Halton's innovative answer to homelessness, raised more than $64,000 on Sunday. Pictured here, taking part in the event are, from left, local celebrity Ron MacLean cleans his bowl before sampling another soup; Julie Stanton examines her hand made one of a kind bowl; David Johns prepares to dive into his fare -- and making it all possible, at right, patron of Home Suite Hope Dr. Frank Invidiata (clockwise from bottom left), event Silver Spoon Sponsor the Taylor Group's Dean Marks, Executive Director of Home Suite Hope Wendy Perkins, Gold Spoon Sponsor Anthony Longo, Event Chair Cari MacLean and Gold Spoon Sponsor Gay Longo hoist bowls in various stages of completion at Crackpot pottery studio. Crackpot hosts a sponsor appreciation evening for the Empty Bowls fundraiser that was held at Appleby College. Various artists and students donate bowls, which are then selected by visitors to Empty Bowls. Local restaurants provided a menu of different soups for sampling and then visitors take home their ceramic bowl as a souvenir. The proceeds benefit Home Suite Hope. Suicide prevention is everybody's business By Melanie Hennessey METROLAND MEDIA WEST GROUP Almost 30 people die by suicide each year in Halton and more than 400 are hospitalized for attempted suicide, according to the Halton Region Health Department. With these startling facts in mind, the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition is working to get the message out that local residents can help prevent suicide in their community. The coalition held its annual general meeting recently at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club, where psychologist Dr. Heather Fiske gave a talk on Constructing Hope Together -- Community Suicide Prevention. Fiske said it's important to find ways to convey the message that "suicide prevention is everybody's business." "Everyone can support another person's reason for living," she said. She gave examples of suicide prevention at work, such as in a northern First Nations community that was devastated by a string of suicides over an 18-month period. In this community, people were taking their own lives by tying a cord around a closet rod and hanging themselves. In response, she said a group of residents came up with the idea to create collapsible closet rods. "They got their tool boxes out and went to every door in the community and said, `We're here to replace your closet rods,'" she said, noting this kind of action is the most basic level of suicide prevention. She also spoke of a woman she met who donates knitted goods that she makes to help raise money for suicide prevention efforts. Fiske said this woman is also helping by telling people she knows about her involvement in suicide prevention. "I think this ground level kind of spreading the word that there's something everyone can do to prevent suicide is so important," she said. She went on to commend the local coalition for the brochures and website it's created to let people who may be feeling suicidal know where to turn for help. "These efforts are so worthwhile," she said. "People who are in immediate danger will pick up a brochure or look at the Internet before they talk to someone like me." She wrapped up by telling a story she heard about a young man who was questioning why he should go on living. He confided in his grandfather about the feelings of despair he was having. "His grandfather said, `Your despair is a wolf that's powerful. It will kill you and eat RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER PROVIDING HOPE: The annual general meeting of the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition was held at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club and featured guest speaker Dr. Heather Fiske, author of Hope in Action. your soul. But hope is also a wolf that's equally as powerful,'" she said. The young man asked his grandfather which wolf would be victorious, to which he replied, "The wolf that you feed will win." She encouraged everyone at the meeting to "please nurture your hope." "If a person or group of people is working to effect change, they're more likely to be successful if they have hope," she said. Fiske is a long-time volunteer and frequent speaker for local, national and international suicide prevention groups. She's See Groups page 22