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Virtual walk honours lost teen and raises money for youth mental health charities

Family of teen who died by suicide says psychiatrist appointment came too late

In early December, when they discovered Andre had stopped taking his medication for depression and anxiety, the Courtemanches had called the youth crisis line and their family doctor. The doctor had referred Andre to a psychiatrist six months earlier, when the teen said his medication wasn’t working. But by late December, as Andre’s mental health deteriorated, the family still hadn’t received a call from a psychiatrist. Denise pressed the family doctor to check on the referral. On Jan. 3, two days after Andre was last seen leaving his Cressida Crescent home and walking along the E & N rail line that abuts the backyard, the couple got a call about a psychiatric appointment in February.

Parents of Langford teen found dead call for stronger mental-health supports

  VICTORIA Flowers lie at the base of a waterfall in Goldstream Provincial Park for 16-year-old Andre Courtemanche.  On Saturday evening, the Langford teen s body was found in the park by members of the Juan De Fuca and Metchosin search and rescue teams.  “(I’m) really feeling for the family right now,” said search volunteer Kirsten Marten. “I think that we’re all just holding them in our hearts.”  Courtemanche walked away from his family home on New Year’s Day following an argument with his parents. His mother tells CTV News that he struggled with anxiety and depression for almost two years. 

Family of Langford teen who died by suicide wants better mental health supports

“It’s not that it was suicide that took Andre’s life, it was depression that took Andre’s life,” said Kirsten Marten, who is speaking on behalf of Andre’s family as they grieve. Last week Marten set up the Searching for Andre Courtemanche Facebook page, which mobilized people across Greater Victoria to search for the missing teen. The family received a call on Jan. 4, three days after Andre was reported missing, about setting up an appointment with a psychiatrist to talk about Andre’s depression, Marten said. By that time it was too late. “It’s so heartbreaking that they had to wait that long and they’ve been fighting so hard to get help for Andre,” she said. “The system categorically failed him.”

Parents of missing Langford teen plead for helping looking for their son