Hope Hill recommended as new name for slide hill nicknamed ‘Suicide Hill’

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A call from the Coalition for Suicide Prevention to find a better name for the Little River waterslide than the potentially triggering “Suicide Hill” brought a flood of suggestions and a final recommendation: Hope Hill.

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“An overwhelming response, between 700 and 800 submissions,” were made by community members this spring, said Kim Willis, spokesperson for the Windsor-Essex County branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, which participates in the local coalition. . For the past five or six years, its members have been trying to highlight the importance of language and how a name like Suicide Hill, an unofficial name used for decades by area residents, can be traumatizing for people who have lost someone by suicide or are dealing with their own suicidal thoughts.

It was actually a member of the coalition, Emily Bertram, a lifeguard affected by suicide, who brought up the fact that the hill was commonly called Suicide Hill.

“We get it, we understand why, but it’s 2021,” Willis said. “Maybe we should consider changing that name.”

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The recommendation goes to the city council on Monday, to officially name the hill, located in Little River Corridor Park, and spend $ 1,500 on a sign.

Hope Hill was suggested by about 20 different people. He was selected by the coalition from a short list that included Thrill Hill, Little River Hill, and Riverside Hill.

“It’s a more attractive name, no doubt,” Willis said. “Esperanza in 2021, I think it’s a really beautiful name. We have certainly had many challenges and ups and downs in the last 18 months as we overcome the pandemic. “The hill, he said, is part of nature. that people are looking for hope, inspiration, enlightenment and meditation. So it makes perfect sense. “

Willis said having the Hope Hill council name would be a very nice ending to September, which is Suicide Awareness Month.

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