Further Readings & References
Some of the information about suicide and suicide prevention presented on
this site is more fully discussed in the sources linked below. More online
resources are available at the
Suicide Reference Library,
a growing compilation by some local volunteers.
NEW! Clergy Resource Booklet (PDF)
SPRC Gatekeeper
Matrix (PDF)
A matrix of suicide prevention and
evidence-based programs
Pamphlets for
attempters, families of attempters and clinicians after an attempt.
For
Yourself (Download PDF)
For
Family Members (Download
PDF)
For
Clinicians (Download
PDF)
The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent Suicide (July 1999)
National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action (2001)
Suicide Prevention
: Prevention Effectiveness and Evaluation (PDF)
Suicide Prevention Resource Center (download
Adobe Acrobat viewer)
Guidelines for School-based Prevention Programs (1999) (PDF)
(download
Adobe Acrobat viewer)
"Preventing Suicide: What Will Work and What Will Not"
Medical Journal of Australia 169: 100-102 (1998)
Reducing
Suicide: A National Imperative (2002)
Institute of Medicine
Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention Action Plan (2004-2007)
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Youth Suicide Prevention Programs: A Resource Guide (1992)
Centers for Disease Control - Web Archive
Suicide
Prevention and Mood Disorders (2002) (PDF)
Depression and Bipolar Alliance
(download
Adobe Acrobat viewer)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT FROM THE DELAWARE COUNTY SUICIDE PREVENTION AND AWARENESS TASK
FORCE:
A Call to Action after the Norwood Events
It is
the mission of the Delaware County Suicide Prevention and Awareness Task
Force to define suicide as a preventable problem in Delaware County, to
assess the status of suicide prevention efforts in the County, and to
present a strategy to expand suicide prevention education in the County. The
Task Force is driven by the loss of lives we experience each year, by the
effect of suicide on family members and others, and by the burden that
completed suicides and suicide attempts place upon police, emergency medical
services, hospitals, crisis centers, and mental health providers.
Delaware County experiences an average of 45 to 60 suicides every year.
There were 90 deaths by suicide in 2007. There have been 20 suicides since
January 1. Suicide is a public health problem that crosses all age, race,
gender, socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural boundaries.
In all cases these deaths come as a shock to the victim’s loved ones, others
who knew the person even casually, and to the community. Survivors of
suicide loss experience the grief that typically accompanies death in
addition to struggling with stigma, guilt and shame.
Understanding the interaction of risk factors, triggers and warning signs is
best communicated through ongoing suicide prevention educational programs,
suicide assessment training, speaking with trained mental health
professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers, and
the accurate, responsible reporting of the media including television,
newspapers, and the internet. When postvention efforts become necessary,
only trained mental health professionals should be called upon.
The Task Force strongly recommends that all mental health providers have
policies for the initial screening of all new clients for suicide risk and
for continual ongoing assessment of all those individuals found to be at
risk.
The Task Force strongly recommends that all schools, public, private, and
parochial, develop policies and strategies that promote good mental health
and suicide prevention, educate staff and students about suicide risk
factors, triggers, and warning signs, and provide protocols and procedures
for postvention activities and crisis response.
Media
exposure never helps anyone cope with or understand a suicide loss and can
in fact encourage some people to attempt suicide. The Task Force strongly
recommends that the media adhere to the 2005 recommendations of the Suicide
Prevention Resource Center, which state that the media needs to report
responsibly and proactively on suicide prevention, and keep abreast of the
research. Reporting on suicide can be accomplished in ways that serve public
health. Provide your audience with information about how and why such
tragedies occur and exercise your ethical obligation to friends and families
of the deceased to minimize the emotional pain caused by media attention to
the suicide. The media must be part of the solution rather than part of the
problem.
The events of Norwood remind us that suicide deaths can impact entire
communities and counties, particularly when the deaths are common knowledge,
have unrelenting media coverage, and have the potential to lead to further
suicides.
Suicide pacts can form and unfold quickly and, although rare, they do happen
and young people are especially vulnerable. The only effective preventative
measure is education, information, and responsible, appropriate
communication.
Members of suicide pacts may manifest individual signs of suicide.
Indications include hopelessness, withdrawal from family or friends,
dramatic mood changes, feelings of burdensomeness, allusions to death or
suicide, giving away possessions or pets, and other signs that signal risk
and need to be assessed by a mental health professional.
Lastly, we are reminded that the priorities after a suicide must be, 1)
preventing further suicidal behavior and, 2) assuring support to the
bereaved.
The Task Force is committed to dispelling myths and stigma that create
barriers that keep people from seeking help and further complicate the
grieving process.
The
Task Force is committed to disseminating accurate information about the
trends and reasons why suicide occurs and to raise awareness that this is a
preventable community-wide problem.
The Task Force is committed to educating the community about suicide
prevention and postvention using evidence-based programs.
The
Task Force is committed to ensuring appropriate support is available and
accessible in a timely manner following a suicide.
We are working to implement a protocol for an immediate and effective
response to a community-wide suicide crisis. We will need the support of all
Delaware County communities, and the cooperation and collaboration of police
and other first responders, the media, public and private health and human
service organizations, schools, and the clergy. Our goal is to be ready if
and when a tragedy such as Norwood happens again.
This is our message: suicide is preventable in whatever form it occurs. We
ask you to join us in our efforts to spread this message.
This statement is a compilation of multiple sources and individuals, cited
below.
Text derived from materials written by:
Ellen Chung-Finnegan, MSW, LCSW
Terri Ehrbacher, PhD
Tony Salvatore, MA
References:
The Delaware County Suicide Prevention and Awareness Task Force (2009),
Suicide Prevention in Delaware County: An Action Plan for 2009-2011.
The Delaware County Suicide Prevention and Awareness Task Force (2007),
Suicide is a community-wide preventable health problem, informational
brochure.
The Jason Foundation, Programs for the Awareness and Prevention of Youth
Suicide, Working To Give Our Youth A Promise For Tomorrow, informational
brochure. Hendersonville, TN.
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (2005), The Role of the Media in
Preventing Suicide. Article funded in part by the National Institute of
Mental Health and the National Institutes of Health, distributed by the
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services,
Prevention Resource Center, Oklahoma City, OK.
