Suicide Archives - Mediarabe

Newport Mental Health to create COVID-19 suicide prevention program thanks to federal grant – News – providencejournal.com

October 9, 2020

“With the confluence of the pandemic, layoffs, racial inequity, and an election year, we’re facing tremendous uncertainty, which unfortunately also gives rise to serious behavioral issues and suicide,” Newport Mental Health president and CEO Jamie Lehane said in announcing the $800,000 grant from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration.

NEWPORT — A federal grant will allow Newport Mental Health to establish a COVID-19 Emergency Suicide Prevention program for residents of Aquidneck Island.

Although suicide statistics since the beginning of the pandemic are incomplete, most mental-health experts expect to see a rise in attempts and fatalities without aggressive intervention.

“With the confluence of the pandemic, layoffs, racial inequity, and an election year, we’re facing tremendous uncertainty, which unfortunately also gives rise to serious behavioral issues and suicide,” Newport Mental Health president and CEO Jamie Lehane said in announcing the $800,000 grant from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration.

The multi-year grant,

Department of Defense Releases Second Annual Suicide Report > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Release

October 1, 2020

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Today, the Department of Defense (DOD) released its second Annual Suicide Report (ASR). The Department is committed to the health, safety, and well-being of Service members, veterans, and families – every death by suicide is a tragedy.

The ASR for calendar year (CY) 2019 presents recent suicide data for Service members and their families, and describes current and future efforts underway to combat suicide. The report includes new Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act reporting requirements, and represents the Department’s continued commitment to provide timely information on this critical issue and transparency on our efforts.

“The loss of every life is heartbreaking, and each suicide carries a deeply personal story. Every suicide has wide-reaching impacts on families, friends, peers, the broader military community, and the nation as a whole.” said Dr. Elizabeth Van Winkle, executive director of the Office of Force Resiliency. “Preventing these tragedies is one of our

Suicide rate among active duty troops jumps to six-year high

October 1, 2020

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As the number of veterans committing suicide has climbed to an alarming rate, a civilian-run treatment center has now become a model for treating PTSD and other causes of military suicides. (July 29)

WASHINGTON – The suicide rate among active-duty troops increased in 2019, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday, and Army officials worry that stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may push figures higher in 2020.

Last year, the rate of suicide among active-duty troops was 25.9 per 100,000 troops, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on suicide. The rate was 24.9 per 100,000 people in 2018, and 21.9 per 100,000 troops in 2017. The rate has showed a steady increase from 2014, when the rate was 18.5 per 100,000 service members. The suicide rates in the National Guard and reserve components of the military remained stable last year, according to the report.

In all, 498 troops

Mental Health ‘Tsunami’ Looms: Can CA Prevent A Suicide Surge?

September 30, 2020

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Humboldt County, tucked into the redwoods on the state’s far North Coast, also has a much higher suicide rate than most of California. The pandemic has fueled new concerns.

Celinda Gonzales has a long list of worries: She worries about COVID-19, which recently spiked near the Yurok reservation where she lives in Humboldt County. She worries about the wildfires threatening her remote, forested town, Weitchpec.

She worries about gill rot and algae blooms in the Klamath and Trinity rivers, which join together just over the hill from her trailer; she worries, too, about what the resulting small salmon runs mean for her financially struggling community.

And she worries about the prospect of more suicides.
“It’s very hard to stay mentally strong right now,” she said.

For several years, Gonzales, 53, has worked in suicide prevention in the northwestern corner of California, famous for its rocky coastlines and breathtaking forests. It

Out of the Darkness suicide prevention event goes virtual

September 30, 2020

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Allen Barber wasn’t the person that came to mind when you thought about suicide.

A talented singer and actor, he had a beautiful baritone voice and was a member of the elite Montevallo Chamber Singers in college.

“He was well-liked, cared deeply for his family and friends and cared deeply about everything that went on around him,” said his mother, Lydia Barber.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Allen took his own life at age 19 on Oct. 27, 2010.

“We were in shock, devastated and lost,” said his mother, Lydia Barber of Daphne.

Allen Barber in a production of ‘Godspell’ in 2009.

To deal with the grief and in hope of helping others avoid the pain her family went through, Barber got involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Since 2012, she’s been the chairperson of the Out of the Darkness Walk in Daphne, an annual fundraiser that not

Old fire station in Arleta converted into mental health facility to prevent suicide among firefighters

September 29, 2020

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ARLETA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Modern day firefighters benefit from high tech equipment and regular training but those measures do little to shield them from their number one killer: suicide.

“Our firefighters experience terrible things. Terrible things that they can’t share with their families because it is just going to depress their families, quite honestly,” said Los Angeles City Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas.

The department’s labor union, the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, on Monday took a major step towards suicide prevention for 3,500 members and their families.

They converted an old fire station in Arleta to become the United Firefighters of Los Angeles Center for Health and Wellness, which will provide space for counseling and classroom training.

Its staff will include mental health specialists who will be available around the clock, plus an additional 100 peer counselors in the field.

“As best we can tell this is the

Morris To Host Suicide Prevention Webinar

September 28, 2020

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MORRIS TWP., NJ—Morris Township Mayor Cathy Wilson will host a suicide prevention webinar Thursday night, in recognition of September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

Mayor Wilson, Chatham Borough Councilman Len Resto, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Moms Demand Action Morris County group will participate in the live webinar at 7 p.m.

“There s a real need for open, honest communication about mental health issues,” said Wilson, “especially now with all the stress covid is causing.”

The webinar will feature a talk by Resto, a survivor, and a lecture on depression and risk factors from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The Moms Demand Action group will speak about the one thing you should do when a loved one is in crisis.

According to AFSP data, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. 48,344 people committed suicide in the U.S. in 2018. An