Suicide prevention: Where is there progress?
September 18, 2015
“We are making progress in preventing suicide,” said Jerry Reed, director of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day last week. Moving forward, he said, “We must invest in the success we’ve had, bringing it to scale … and reaching far more of those who will benefit.” Other suicide prevention leaders, too, reflected on promising developments that exemplify the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s (IASP) theme for the observance, “Reaching Out and Saving Lives.” The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Veterans Crisis Line have grown to provide crisis services across the nation. Mental health treatment options and educational interventions shown to have positive outcomes are gathered and promoted by the SPRC and its funding agency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. And a new poll shows that Americans are increasingly aware of suicide and mental health struggles and want to help, believing that they have a role to play in helping friends to find treatment and support. As Ella Arensman, president of the IASP, noted in a public statement, reducing suicide will require “a proactive approach of services, communities, and individuals towards people at risk of suicide, and those who have lost somebody close through suicide as well.”
Spark Extra! Read about the results of the recent poll: A survey about mental health and suicide in the United States.