British Columbia family finally gets answers about daughter’s suicide

Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, there are several ways to get help, including calling or texting the Suicide Crisis Helpline at 988. A list of local crisis centers is also available here.

A British Columbia family has finally received answers about the tragic death of their teenage daughter. However, the process of getting those answers has been fraught with challenges, including inaccurate information from the local health authority.

The Donovan family has been trying for nine months to determine what led to the death of their 16-year-old daughter Felicity, who committed suicide in December.

“It’s been a long road,” Felicity’s mother Laura said. “It’s also affected our grieving process a little bit.”

Appointment cancelled

According to her father David, Felicity struggled with depression.

He said the family had done everything they could to support her, including signing up for a Fraser Health program called START, which stands for Short Term Assessment Response Treatment.

It provides community-based mental health and/or substance abuse assessments and intervention services to children and teens ages six to eighteen who are in crisis.

In December, Felicity’s weekly appointment was cancelled because her caregiver was ill.

The Donovans say no one called the family or Felicity to reschedule. Two days after the canceled appointment, the teen, an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, died.

“Indigenous children die at a higher rate than the rest of the population,” says Laura.

“I don’t know how they made those mistakes”

Their daughter’s death set the couple on a quest for answers. Since January, Laura and David have spoken to the Surrey School District, the Ministry of Education and Fraser Health, and have filed numerous requests for information.

Two letters from Fraser Health contained incorrect information about Felicity’s experiences with the START program.

“I don’t know how they made those mistakes,” Laura said. “I felt like they weren’t talking about our daughter.”

Fraser Health has since apologized and made corrections.

When CTV News first reported on this story, Fraser Health stated: “In the event a scheduled appointment is missed or cancelled by the clinician or client for any reason, the team will contact the client and their family.”

The statement said that during that conversation, the team will emphasize that if the client requires immediate medical attention or there is a significant threat of serious bodily harm to themselves or others, they should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

In a letter to Laura and David dated August 29, the health authority shared conflicting information.

Fraser Health said: “We did not have a specific policy regarding continuity of care when clinicians are unavailable/ill. We recognise the programme should have asked more questions and asked if an earlier booking was needed prior to Felicity’s next scheduled appointment on December 20.”

David said he was not shocked by this information, adding that the family’s experiences were sometimes not acknowledged.

He said progress was only made when the family began working with Fraser Health’s Indigenous support team.

“It was like the sun came out,” he said.

Health Authority pushes for change

In August, Fraser Health implemented a new standard protocol into the START program regarding reporting employee absences.

According to Fraser Health’s letter to the Donovans, “The change ensures that when a caregiver reports an unexpected absence from work, all clients affected by that absence will be contacted and the START program will assess their mental health status to determine the best clinical support to meet their needs.”

The letter states that the client’s options, based on the risk assessment and in consultation with the client, include making an appointment on the same day with another care provider, rescheduling the appointment with the regular care provider as soon as possible, referring to an emergency department or calling 112 if there is an acute risk.

Mike Kenyon, director of regional mental health and substance abuse services at Fraser Health, said the health authority conducted an extensive review process following Felicity’s death.

“We want to learn from this,” he said. “And we have made contact with the family.”

‘Our way of honoring her’

The Donovans said they welcomed the change and the way the health authority is addressing this complex issue.

“I think Fraser Health can be a role model when it comes to these kinds of things,” said Laura.

She said she and David promise to continue this work, no matter how difficult it is.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way because there are so many children who need help,” she said.

David said that Felicity would have wanted that.

“This is just our way of honoring her,” he said. “She was a very kind and caring person.”