Dr. Alex Abramovich

Dr. Alex Abramovich fondly remembers one of his first experiences at CAMH in 2014 as a post-doctoral fellow. 

He was working on a film-based research study focused on LGBTQ2S youth homelessness, mental health and access to mental health services. One of the participants was a young gay man. He had experienced homelessness and was struggling with addiction and mental health problems, and wasn’t finding any support in the shelter system.

“He was literally being bounced around. He was suffering…he was dying. There was no support anywhere then eventually his parents got involved and brought him to CAMH,” he says. “He said CAMH saved his life.”

That was Alex’s breakthrough moment. 

“It made me realize we’re doing something really right if this young person, who couldn’t get support anywhere, felt that CAMH saved his life,” he says. 

Over the past 15 years, Alex has conducted research with hundreds of young LGBTQ2S+ individuals and the issue of suicide comes up in every single project. 

“It’s not because a person identifies as LGBTQ2S+, that’s not why they’re experiencing suicidality, it’s often because of the high rates of stigma, discrimination and oppression. These are very young people who have been kicked out of their homes after sharing their identity, and who oftentimes are completely rejected and subjected to abuse and violence. They receive very little support and it’s understandable they would feel hopeless or experience mental health challenges,” he says. 

Alex says rates of suicide are much higher for LGBTQ2S+ youth compared to cisgender and heterosexual youth, and rates of suicide are even higher for LGBTQ2S+ youth who are rejected by their parents.

“Family support is huge,” he says.

In a recent study Alex conducted on LGBTQ2S+ youth homelessness in York Region, he found 39 per cent of participants had attempted suicide in the past year. He also found 81 per cent thought they would be better off dead, and 64 per cent had thought about attempting suicide. 

“As a transgender person, these issues are very dear to my heart. I’m very passionate about LGBTQ2S+ youth homelessness and transgender health. My goal is to prevent, reduce and find ways to ultimately end LGBTQ2S+ youth homelessness in Canada,” he says. 

One thing Alex wishes people understood better about mental health and suicidal ideation is there is so much stigma and so much blame. 

“When people are talking about these issues, it always feels like they’re blaming those experiencing mental illness or suicidal ideation. People often make these issues about themselves when a family member or friend is struggling, and think that person is being selfish,” he says. “Blaming adds to the stigma and people often end up suffering alone because they don’t feel safe or they feel afraid to get help.”

Alex hopes education can help resolve these issues and feels CAMH is best-suited to help prevent suicide. 

“At CAMH, we have a deep understanding of mental health issues and the importance of building supportive environments. We are a team of people who work at CAMH because we want to save lives. I feel like the slogan ‘Mental Health is Health’ really says it all. That’s what CAMH stands for. We can work together to break the stigma.”

This story was part of our Not suicide. Not today. campaign in 2020.