Suicide

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 to seek immediate assistance. Below are resources you can contact if you are seeking assistance or information. All resources are intended for informational purposes only.

Prevention is an essential part of the continuum in addressing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people, but it can be a challenge to define and implement.

The University of Rochester, a RCORP-Rural Center of Excellence on SUD Prevention, has 988 Lifeline posters available for download on their website. The national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline was launched in July 2023 and provides a way for individuals experiencing a suicidal, mental health, or substance use disorder crisis to receive urgent help 24/7. Spreading awareness of the 988 Lifeline is important as it can help residents in rural areas obtain treatment and help quickly.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now added American Sign Language (ASL) services to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. An ongoing effort of the HHS is to expand accessibility to behavioral health care for underserved communities, which includes individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

As suicide has become a major health concern in the United States, September 2023 is recognized as Suicide Prevention Month. The National Institute of Mental Health has put together a digital toolkit for Suicide Prevention Month to raise awareness. Resources are provided for multiple online platforms for the public to share which focus on recognizing the warning signs for suicide and how to get people the help they need.

The CDC report released in September 2022 highlights that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. Among key findings, the report finds that one of the leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related death includes mental health conditions related to substance use disorder.

Whether an opioid overdose death is unintentional or intentional (i.e., suicide), it can be difficult to disentangle. The suffering and hopelessness associated with addiction often lead to indifference to living or dying and to extreme risk taking. In this presentation, examples were described and presented from an opioid-specific suicide prevention training module that is part of the SafeSide Prevention learning program

We are pleased to share that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has rolled out a new 988 website today – available at samhsa.gov/988. The 988 website is designed to serve as your one-stop-shop for 988 resources from SAMHSA. Notably, we want to make sure you’re aware that the site contains a 988 partner toolkit. The partner toolkit is intended for SAMHSA’s 988 implementation partners (crisis call centers, state mental health programs, substance use treatment providers, behavioral health systems, and others) to provide key messages, FAQs, and more information about what 988 is and how it will work.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) want greater awareness of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their connection to high rates of overdose and suicide.  This week they announced a new training webpage, UrgentRelatedPreventable.org, designed in collaboration with the American Public Health Association to provide background and talking points.  The site explains how exposure to certain events and conditions in childhood have lasting effects on health, well-being, and prosperity far into adulthood.  See Funding section below for a CDC effort to research the links between ACEs and substance use. 

The WICHE Behavioral Health Program, in partnership with staff at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), developed the Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Primary Care Practices to provide the necessary tools and information needed to primary care practices and clinics to identify and address the critical needs of suicidal patients. This revised edition is fully aligned with Zero Suicide, the nationally recognized, evidence-based suicide prevention framework.