September was National Suicide Prevention Month. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death overall, and the second leading cause of death for children, teens and young adults ages 10-34. Rates of suicide have been on the rise for years. From 2000 to 2018, the rate has increased by 35%. The pandemic has also influenced an increase in suicide rates due to social isolation, increased anxiety, and many other factors.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline has reported a 65% increase in calls and emails since March. According to the CDC, over 40% of adults reported struggling with mental health or substance use. Now, more than ever, it is important for people to raise awareness about suicide. Most suicides are preventable, and knowing the warning signs, risk factors, ways to help, and protective factors are part of suicide prevention.
Last month, Pathways worked to increase awareness and educate students in several different ways. Informational posts on Instagram informed students of warning signs and actions they can take to help a friend. Pathways also hosted an event on Zoom where students participated in an interactive trivia game to learn some of the facts about suicide prevention. Students had fun trying to get the right answer and win a prize. Pathways held an event in the high school parking lot where students could come and create posters while safely socially distant. The students were so happy to come together, see each other and engage in a fun healthy activity. The posters had messages of positivity, self-care, and mental health awareness.
In addition, a suicide awareness presentation was created for teachers to utilize during their social emotional learning lessons. This presentation was shared with the entire student population. Finally, a letter was sent to all district families identifying the importance of suicide awareness, some thoughts on how to support children and promote positive mental health during this difficult time and resources if a parent has concerns about their child.
For resources and information on suicide prevention: https://linktr.ee/PathwaysSuicidePrevention
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Wellspring Center for Prevention continues to monitor the ongoing situation with COVID-19, especially as it affects the communities we serve. As an important source of services for those in need, we have every intention of continuing our mission especially in times of uncertainty. We are doing our best to minimize risk to our staff and clients and continue with decision we made when the pandemic started. Those decisions affect how we provide services that ensure your and our staff’s safety. Which is why our staff continues to provide services remotely. And why staff rotates into the office while maintaining work from home. We promise to respond to your emails and phone calls as soon as we can and we appreciate your patience as we adjust to this new normal. Please stay safe and take care of yourself and your loved ones.