In addition to the kick off of the school year and new program year for MEPs, September is also Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15), National Suicide Prevention Month, and includes the National Farm Safety and Health Week.

Suicide Prevention

According to the CDC, suicide is a public health problem because of its far-reaching effects:

• Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. It was responsible for over 48,000 deaths in 2021.
• In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million made a plan for suicide, and 1.7 million attempted suicide.
• People who have experienced violence, including child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence are at higher risk for suicide.
• In 2021, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 25-34 years.

The good news is that there are more resources than ever for those struggling with suicidal ideation and those who care about them and want to help. The CDC has multiple tools on their website to include helpful tips and links.

Safeguard the people in your life from the risk of suicide and support them:

• Ask.
• Keep them safe.
• Be there.
• Help them connect. You can start with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org).
• Follow up.

Find out how these actions can save a life by visiting www.BeThe1To.com.

Everyone can play a part in preventing suicide!

This is a good time to review iSOSY's Suicide Prevention Lesson in the Personal Wellness collection. The lesson is targeted to MEP staff and others that work with at-risk and out-of-school youth.

During the lesson, MEP staff and others will:

• Learn to understand suicide, its warning signs, risk factors, and action steps you can take to take to save lives. 
• Learn strategies to start conversations about suicide. 
• Know resources to support prevention efforts. 
• Ensure that staff are comfortable, competent, and well prepared to recognize, respond, and manage suicide risk. 

The resource outlined below is an incredible tool related to suicide prevention that could be implemented with at-risk secondary and out-of-school youth in your program.

R;pple is a FREE interceptive tool designed to present a visual prompt when a person searches for harmful keywords or phrases relating to the topic of self-harm or suicide. These phrases include any words or terminology which have been identified as displaying potentially damaging online content.

Step 1: Search

A user searches for harmful content via online web searches, forums or video sharing sites using one of the keywords configured within the R;pple tool. [Please note, R;pple does not capture any personally identifiable information nor track users.]

Step 2: Analysis

The R;pple tool flags up that a user has searched online for one of the keywords configured within the tool relating to suicide and/or self-harm and triggers R;pple into action.

Step 3: Intervention

Before the person is directed to the online results relating to their search, R;pple displays on their screen. A message of hope is displayed followed by a selection of 24/7, free mental health charity partners available to contact in a variety of different communication methods, including calling, texting, and web chatting.