Please pay attention! Youth suicide has been declared a national emergency.
This is real. If you have any children in your network of family and friends, and most of us do, take a look at this blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention.
Look at each of the topics mentioned. Don’t assume you already know everything about them. Do you have any connections to schools? Public health? Mental health care? Community organizations? Pick one thing you are comfortable doing and take action!
- Educate yourself about youth suicide prevention.
- Find out why youth suicide is a critical public health concern.
- Learn to recognize risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs.
- Pediatricians can integrate suicide prevention protocols into their practice.
- Anyone who works with youth has an obligation to address suicide prevention.
- Study the resources available and share them. Be part of the solution!
Suicide can happen to anyone. We can’t wait for someone else to solve this problem. Get the conversations started in your community and do your part to help save lives!
A
Culture of Caring: A Suicide Prevention Guide for Schools (K-12) was
created as a resource for educators who want to know how to get started and
what steps to take to create a suicide prevention plan that will work for their
schools and districts. It is written from my perspective as a school principal
and survivor of suicide loss, not an expert in psychology or counseling. I hope
that any teacher, school counselor, psychologist, principal, or district
administrator can pick up this book, flip to a chapter, and easily find helpful
answers to the questions they are likely to have about what schools can do to
prevent suicide.
