21 Sep National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Joseph Bargione, PhD
School Psychologist
Bounce Executive Committee Member and Trainer
Member of Louisville Health Advisory Board and Suicide Fatality Review Committee
As our students settle into a new school year it is important to know that many of them continue to struggle with mental health issues, with one being suicidal ideation. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 to 24. As a school psychologist for 30 years in Kentucky, I have seen firsthand the impact a completed suicide of a student has on the friends, teachers, family, and community. When providing support to them after the death of a student I would often hear, ‘if I only knew what to do to help, I would have done it’.
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, therefore, I would like to highlight programs we are currently implementing in our state, and suggest others we can start utilizing. For sometime now our policy makers in Frankfort have required that all middle and high school students who attend public schools receive suicide prevention information each year before September 15th. School personnel who have direct contact with students from sixth (6) to twelfth (12) grade receive one hour of professional development on the topic each year.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and the Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) created an excellent resource toolkit to help school districts when they implement their suicide prevention program with students and staff.
In many school districts, the school counselors, school social workers and school psychologists are responsible for implementing the programs. The associations for these mental health professionals are recommending some revisions to the state statues for suicide prevention programs in schools. Three of the recommendations are:
1) Any suicide prevention program used with students and staff should be evidenced-based.
2) After the initial lesson is completed before September 15th, a follow-up lesson should occur prior to January 15th to reinforce prior learning; and
3) If any student is absent when the suicide prevention lesson is presented the school should make a good faith effort to provide it when the student returns.
As a state we cannot put all the responsibility of such an important issue only on the shoulders of our educators. Parents, caregivers, community partners and advocates for children should also have a role to play. So, what can each of us do to help? There are numerous educational programs that are free or low cost to attend that teach what warning signs to look for when you think a child might be suicidal and linking them to services in the community they can go to for help. Two such programs are Youth-Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) and Question. Persuade. Refer. (QPR). There are agencies throughout the state that offer these training programs.
In recognition of September being National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, let each of us play a role in reducing suicides among our students. Our young people deserve nothing less from us.
Resources:
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Kentucky Suicide Prevention Toolkit
988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline (call or text)
Question. Persuade. Refer. (QPR)
Youth Mental Health First Aid
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
National Alliance on Mental Illness – Kentucky
The TREVOR Project