In light of several tragic youth suicides caused by bullying targeted against those who identify as GLBTQ

2-1-1 Broward has added additional information and resources to our GLBTQ page on TeenSpace211.org

Check out the links to "It Gets Better Project" and a recent NY Times article about GLBTQ teens and suicide at

http://www.teenspace211.org/GLBTQ.html

Suicide Prevention Moves Online To Promote World Suicide Prevention Day and Announces New Action Alliance Public-Private Partnership

WASHINGTON—As part of the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, the National Council for Suicide Prevention announced today the launch of its Take 5 to Save Lives campaign (www.take5tosavelives.com), an online public awareness and education campaign that encourages everyone to take 5 minutes to help prevent the suicide of a friend or loved one.

"Suicide is one of our most challenging public health issues," said Dr. Dan Reidenberg, managing director of the National Council. "But we know that suicide is preventable and that people can do something about it. The Take 5 campaign empowers people to change—and save—lives."

In addition to the National Council, nearly 100 public and private organizations—including Facebook, Twitter, the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, the Mayo Clinic and the Mall of America—have come together to spread the word about the annual day and the campaign. As the name suggests, the Take5 to Save Lives campaign offers people five actions they can take to learn more about suicide and its prevention: learn the warning signs for suicide, join the online movement to prevent suicide, spread the word, support a friend, and reach out if you need help.

On World Suicide Prevention Day there will be activities in 750 countries. Campaign organizers for the United States are hoping that individuals and groups will send out tweets, update their Facebook status message, and make other announcements on their social networking pages and websites. Facebook has taken a leadership role in the online industry promoting World Suicide Prevention Day by supporting the day by creating targeted ads on the social networking site, distributing a blog about online safety and other messaging to help reduce suicide.

In addition, the NCSP along with many Federal Agencies will be announcing the formation of an Action Alliance to Prevent Suicide on September 10, 2010 from the National Press Club in Washington, DC. A 9:00 a.m. press conference is scheduled to recognize World Suicide Prevention Day and discuss the next generation in suicide prevention through a public-private partnership for the nation.

"As a parent who lost a son to suicide" said Philip Satow, survivor and National Council for Suicide Prevention representative on the Executive Committee of the newly formed Action Alliance. "I’m hopeful that the steps we are taking today will help prevent this tragedy from occurring among countless families across America."

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (www.SAMHSA.gov), suicides now account for 34,598 deaths each year in the United States - almost twice the number of homicides (18,361). A recent SAMHSA study showed that 8.3 million American adults seriously contemplated suicide in the past year, with 1.1 million adults actually attempting it.

But groups like the member organizations of the National Council, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), SAMHSA, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255) have been working to ensure that people can reach out for help to prevent suicide. In May of this year, the SAMHSA-funded Lifeline answered its two millionth call since its launch in 2005.

The suicide prevention community in the U.S. has increasingly taken their efforts online. The Lifeline (www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org) has established profiles and relationships with MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and has worked with each platform to establish safety protocols and guidelines for users. As well, Google recently announced that when users type in key words such as "suicide," they will receive an automatic response prompting them to call the Lifeline if they need help.

The National Council for Suicide Prevention is a coalition of nine national organizations working to prevent suicide, including the American Association of Suicidology, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Jason Foundation, The Jed Foundation, The Link Counseling Center, National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide, Samaritans USA , Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), and Yellow Ribbon.

Dr. Reidenberg is available for in person interviews in Washington, DC or by phone at 612-741-1354 anytime on Thursday, September 9.

A Common Casualty of Old Age: The Will to Live

By JANE E. BRODY Published: November 27, 2007

Suicide is more common among older Americans than any other age group. The statistics are daunting. While people 65 and older account for 12 percent of the population, they represent 16 percent to 25 percent of the suicides. Four out of five suicides in

older adults are men. And among white men over 85, the suicide rate — 50 per 100,000 men — is six times that of the general population.

Yet, says Dr. Gary J. Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, “If you consider only major depression as the antecedent of elder suicide, you’ll miss 20 to 40 percent of cases in which there is no sign of mental illness.”

Dr. Kennedy, who is also affiliated with Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recently directed a symposium in New York on preventing suicide in older adults, designed to alert both mental health and primary care practitioners to the often subtle signs that an older person may try to end it all.

The Warning Signs

In interviews, he and other symposium presenters noted that detecting suicidal impulses in older people often depended on the ability of family members and friends to recognize warning signs and act on them. According to Gregory K. Brown, a suicide specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, in studies of what preceded elder suicides, “suicide ideation” — the wish to die or thoughts of

killing themselves — appears not to have been taken seriously. In 75 percent of cases, the suicide victims “had told family members

or acquaintances of their intention to kill themselves,” Dr. Brown said. Dr. Kennedy put it this way: “This is not simply a doctor’s problem. We need to think of elder suicide more as a social problem and look out for individuals at risk.”

Primary care practitioners are also crucial to suicide prevention among the elderly because older people, and especially older men, are unlikely to seek out and accept mental health services but are often seen by family doctors and nurses within days or weeks of a suicide. Among suicide victims 55 and older, 58 percent visited a general physician in the month before the suicide. In fact, 20 percent see a general physician on the same day and 40 percent within one week of the suicide.

While major depression is the main precipitant of suicide at all ages, social isolation is an important risk factor for suicide among the elderly. And older men, more so than older women, often become socially isolated. Widowers are especially at risk because older men in the current generation tend to depend on their wives to maintain social contacts. When wives die, their husbands’ social interactions often cease. "Older males who live alone are an endangered species,” Dr. Kennedy said — particularly “in states like Wyoming, Montana and Nevada, where the social distance is great and firearms are a part of the culture.”

Many men are poorly prepared for retirement, and don’t know how to fill in the hours and maintain a sense of usefulness when they stop working. “They often sit around watching TV,” said Martha L. Bruce, a professor of sociology and psychiatry at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in White Plains said. And Dr. Kennedy said, “After retirement a lot of older men start drinking heavily, a sign of increased aggression turned inward.” He called heavy drinking or binge drinking a risk factor for suicide among the elderly.

A particularly vulnerable time may be after the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease like cancer. Older men who were recently discharged from the hospital are also at high risk, Dr. Kennedy said. They need to be periodically screened for depressed mood, loss of interest in life and thoughts of killing themselves. Serious personal neglect is another warning sign; people can commit a kind of passive suicide by failing to eat, letting themselves become dangerously sedentary or not taking needed medication.

Dealing With Depression

Contrary to what many people think, depression is not a normal part of growing older. Nor is it harder to treat in older people. But it is often harder to recognize and harder to get patients to accept and continue with treatment. “Most people think sadness is a hallmark of depression,” Dr. Bruce said. “But more often in older people it’s anhedonia — they’re not enjoying life. They’re irritable and cranky.” She added: “Many older people despair over the quality of their lives at the end of life. If they have a functional disability or serious medical illness, it may make it harder to notice depression in older people.” Family members, friends and medical personnel must take it seriously when an older person says “life is not worth living,” “I don’t see any point in living,” “I’d be better off dead” or “My family would be better off if I died,” the experts emphasized. “Listen carefully, empathize and help the person get evaluated for treatment or into treatment,” Dr. Brown urged. He warned that “depressed older adults tend to have fewer symptoms” than younger adults who are depressed.

The ideal approach, of course, is to prevent depression in the first place. Dr. Brown recommended that older adults structure their days by maintaining a regular cycle and planning activities that “give them pleasure, purpose and a reason for living.”

He suggested “social activities of any type — joining a book club or bowling league, going to a senior center or gym, taking courses

at a local college, hanging out at the coffee shop.” Dr. Bruce suggests taking up a new interest like painting or needlework or volunteering at a place of worship, school or museum. Dr. Brown notes that any activity the person is capable of doing can help to ward off depression and suicidal ideation. And he urges older people to talk to others about their problems.

Preventing Suicide on College Campuses

By Leslie Quander Wooldridge

"I don't care. I don't really care about anything anymore."

Those red-flag words, even if they don't explicitly say "suicide," can be a troubled college student's

only call for help. Fortunately, from coast to coast, college campuses are more prepared than ever

to provide assistance to students who are overwhelmed, depressed, and at risk for suicide.

SAMHSA's Campus Suicide Prevention grant program, administered by the Agency's Center for

Mental Health Services (CMHS), is helping more than 50 colleges and universities enhance services

for students with mental and behavioral health problems. Some SAMHSA grantees—such as the

University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), in Irvine, CA, and Syracuse University (SU) in Upstate

New York—had suicide prevention programs in place before they received the grants. They have

been using the funds to enhance their existing programs. Other grantees are using the funds to

develop programs from the very beginning.

Grants for these programs are authorized under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to provide

schools with funds to help students complete their studies successfully.

For more on the Garrett Lee Smith Act, see "Campus Suicide Prevention Grants.")

All 55 of the grantees offer programs to train the campus community to recognize the warning

signs of suicide, so that students in crisis can be referred for professional assessment. They also

offer awareness programming to bring attention to the problem."When you identify somebody at

risk, you need to go get help for this person," said Ellen Reibling, Ph.D., Director of Health Education

at UC Irvine. "There's no 'let's wait and see' time."

Rebecca S. Dayton, Ph.D., Director of the SU Counseling Center, agreed. "Stigma is one of the

biggest factors that contribute not just to suicide, but to any mental health problem," she said.

"Universities are learning to educate the campus community, especially students, on how to identify

times when they're struggling and how to get help." Indeed, many young people are struggling.

Across the Nation, the statistics are overwhelming. Suicide is the third leading cause of death

among young people age 18 to 25, according to 2004 data from the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Suicide also is strongly associated with mental illness and substance use disorders. For young

people age 18 to 22, the rates of serious psychological disorders are 17.8 percent for those

enrolled in college and 19.0 percent for others in that age group, according to SAMHSA's 2006

National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

"Suicide prevention is a priority area for SAMHSA," said Terry L. Cline, Ph.D., SAMHSA Administrator.

"When schools promote mental health services, it makes a difference. "More than 30,000 adults

age 18 or older die by suicide each year, according to the CDC. A 2006 report from SAMHSA's

Office of Applied Studies also suggests that there may be between 8 and 25 attempted suicides for

every suicide death.

With these statistics in mind, CMHS Director A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed., views suicide as a public health

crisis. "The reality is that suicide is still greatly misunderstood and not accepted by the general public

as something that we can prevent," she said. "We must build awareness to change that perception."

All of the grantees are working to build awareness. Grantees share suicide prevention knowledge

with each other, and some offer classes to help students manage stress. But it is the gatekeepers

who often serve as the link between professional counseling staff and students.