Youth suicide: Gaining traction in treating mental illness

The Lebanon Express

Thanks to state legislation passed earlier this year, Oregon has strengthened its youth suicide prevention efforts. Oregon now employs two statewide youth suicide prevention coordinators; one will continue to focus on prevention, while the other addresses the state’s services for youth in crisis. For the first time, Oregon is requiring data on youth suicides and attempts to be collected and reported annually, and the legislature plans to review the state’s updated youth suicide prevention plan every five years. Community partners in two counties, Linn and Benton, have formed a coalition that is taking the initiative to reach struggling youth at a local level. “We all, as agencies, do our thing but we need to start doing our thing as shared partners in a larger, seamless system,” said Caroline Fisher, chief of child psychiatry for Samaritan Health Services and one of the organizers of the coalition. Representatives from more than 40 agencies are participating; meanwhile, two school districts in the area have formed an anti-suicide task force to share prevention resources, increase the availability of school counseling, and organize awareness events. School staff members are receiving Youth Mental Health First Aid training, and one school has initiated a pilot program to screen seventh-graders for depression.

Spark Extra! Check out these youth suicide prevention school-based guide checklists, developed at the University of South Florida.