Suicide Prevention Starts With You
Written by Lyndsey Kerr
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2020 alone, 45,979 deaths by suicide occurred: that’s approximately one life taken every 11 minutes. Thoughts about suicide and suicide attempts are even higher. In 2020, 12.2 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million adults planned suicide, and 1.2 million adults attempted suicide. The reality of these statistics is heartbreaking, but prevention is possible, and it starts with you.
Assisting communities through suicide prevention and providing culturally tailored services to establish mental resilience is at the heart of our work at Tribal Tech. Continue reading to learn about populations with high risks of suicide and the tools that can help prevent it. This article will also outline the different contracts Tribal Tech staff work on to support *American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities needing mental health services.
What groups have a greater risk for suicide?
Former Service Members (FSM)
AI/AN communities
People living in rural areas
Sexual and gender minorities
Middle-aged adults
These groups all tend to face more factors that are linked to higher rates of suicides or attempts. These factors include substance misuse, financial troubles, physical and mental health struggles, relationship problems, and easy access to lethal means.
Suicidal thoughts or tendencies do not only occur in adults. For example, 2.8% (rate per 100,000) of suicides occur in children ages 10-14 as well as teens and young adults ages 15-24 account for 14.2% of suicides. The following factors can contribute to these statistics:
Childhood trauma (physical and mental)
Bullying
Violence
Suicide rates for Former Service Members
FSM are another specific population that holds an exponentially high rate of suicides each year. Here are the facts:
Record keeping of suicides began after 9/11 for active-duty military members resulting in 30,177 deaths since 2021.
The rate of suicide among FSM is more than 52.3% of the non-FSM population in the US.
FSM account for 13.7% of suicides in the country (this percentage is increasing).
Active-duty service members are at a higher risk due to the layers of potential stressors they face. America’s Warrior Partnership put together an Operation Deep Dive Interim report to help prevent FSM suicide and self-injury mortality. Follow this link to learn more about this project and the mental health risks for FSM.
How does suicide impact AI/AN communities?
AI/AN communities have the highest rate of death by suicide than any other ethnic group in the United States for both men and women. Here are the facts:
In 2019, suicide was the second leading cause of death for AI/AN between the ages of 10 and 34.
AI/AN are 60% more likely to experience the feeling that everything is an effort, all or most of the time, compared to the non-Hispanic white population.
The overall death rate from suicide for AI/AN adults is about 20% higher compared to the non-Hispanic white population.
In 2019, adolescent AI/AN females, ages 15-19, had a death rate that was five times higher than non-Hispanic white females in the same age group.
In 2018, AI/AN males, ages 15-24, had a death rate that was twice that of non-Hispanic white males in the same age group.
Violent deaths, unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide, account for 75% of all mortality in the second decade of life for American Indian/Alaska Natives.
Research suggests that people living in rural areas have a higher chance of being a victim of suicide than people living in urban areas by more than double. This increase is because rural areas have fewer mental health services available due to provider shortages, social barriers, and the lack of culturally competent care. This dramatically affects AI/AN communities since most of them are located in rural reservations with a lack of resources to assist in preventing suicide along with other mental illnesses.
Tribal Tech’s mission to prevent suicide in AI/AN communities
Providing the necessary services to prevent suicide in AI/AN communities is the heart of Tribal Tech’s work. Our staff offers aid through the following contracts:
SAMHSA Native Connections (NC) Tribal Technical Assistance (TA) Center
Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Behavioral Health and Wellness Program (BHWP)
In support of SAMHSA’s requirements, Tribal Tech has developed and implemented an approach for the Tribal TTA Center to use culturally relevant, evidence-based, holistic methods to support Native communities in their self-determination efforts through infrastructure development, capacity building, and program planning and implementation. Our SAMHSA Tribal TTAC team has a proven track record supporting over 280 unique tribes and tribal programs and 135 federal and non-profit organizations working with tribes from 2013-2020.
The purpose of the NC Tribal TA Center is to provide TA to NC grantees for support in achieving the grant’s goals and disseminating best practices and lessons learned. Tribal TA focuses on evidence-based and culturally informed policies and practices and promotes mental, emotional, and behavioral health. It helps grantees shape and implement effective strategies to reduce the impact of substance use, misuse, and mental illness, as well as to foster culturally responsive models to mitigate and respond to the effects of trauma on AI/AN communities through a public health approach. Our SAMHSA NC team delivered over 21,450 hours of virtual Tribal TA to more than 200 grantees and made over 163 total Tribal TA site visits over the past several years.
The BHWP team provides creative programming for faculty and staff of all BIE schools through virtual webinars, Talking Circles, and Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training. In 2020, BHWP trained 431 participants in YMHFA to teach them how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing mental health or addiction challenges or is in crisis. Helpful topics such as mental and behavioral health, wellness, grief, loss, suicide prevention, cultural resilience, and indigenous resources were addressed and shared with all participants.
To this day, our staff is hard at work on these contracts to provide better health, security, and well-being for all, by helping to build healthier communities, secure foundations and stronger economies. To join our team’s efforts, visit our current openings page.
#BeThe1To help save a life
How can you help on an individual level? There are five action steps to communicate when helping prevent suicide:
The first step is to ask, “Are you thinking about suicide?”. This question insinuates that you are open to speaking about suicide in a non-judgmental way. Other ways to ask the question are “How can I help?” or “How do you hurt?”. It is crucial never to promise someone thinking of suicide to keep it a secret.
The second step is to be there, and there are many ways to execute this step. First, it could mean being physically present or speaking with them on the phone. If you cannot be physically present with someone at risk, connect them to someone they can talk to and count on. It is essential to follow through with plans and not commit to promises you can’t keep.
The third step is to keep them safe. After the “asking” step is communicated, it is vital to establish immediate safety. Have they already attempted to kill themselves before talking to you? Do they have a specific, detailed plan? What’s the timing for their plan? Knowing the answers to these questions can tell us the severity of danger the person is in. The 9-8-8 Lifeline is always a resource to call if you are unsure what to do next for that person.
The fourth step is to help them connect. Helping someone connect with resources such as the 9-8-8 Lifeline or support and resources in their community can help create a safety net for when they might find themselves in a crisis. Explore options with them about seeing a mental health professional; ask if they have in the past and if that’s an option for the future.
The fifth and final step is to follow up. After your initial contact with someone thinking about suicide and connecting them with help, follow up with them by asking how they’re doing. This could be done in person, by text, or by phone call. This step is the time to see if there is more you can help with or if there is more you can say or do to reduce their risk of suicide further.
Suicide and suicide attempts leave far-reaching impacts socially, economically, and emotionally. Everyone has a role to play when it comes to saving lives. SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Resource Center has many options to assist people in taking the first steps to prevent suicide. Visit the resources below to learn more and #BeThe1To share with friends, family and loved ones.
*American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people are descended from any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. The term AI/AN encompasses many ethnic and cultural groups, tribes, and traditions. The data in this article does not include people of Hispanic ethnicity.
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About the Author
Lyndsey Kerr, Marketing Coordinator at Tribal Tech. Lyndsey joined Tribal Tech’s team full-time in July 2022. Her attention to detail and thoroughly researched work is demonstrated in this article.