September is also known as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Important dates to remember this month include World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10) and National Suicide Prevention Week (September 5-11).
Suicide in the United States has reached a 30-year high, according to the most recent data. The World Health Organization estimates that one person takes their life every 40 seconds, and 25 times more people attempt suicide. While the statistics regarding suicide are grim, we must remember that suicide is preventable. We can each play a part in helping to save lives and to build community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cite connectedness as a major protective factor against suicide. Fitting with this concept of connectedness, this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day theme is ‘connect, communicate, care.’
Below we have included many resources for National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Thank you for doing your part to raise awareness about suicide prevention in your community!
What You Can Do:
World Suicide Prevention Day
- Visit the Official Facebook Event Page and join people from all over the world who are supporting World Suicide Prevention Day.
- Light a Candle near a Window at 8 PM on World Suicide Prevention Day.
- Download the World Suicide Prevention Day 2016 Suggested Activities.
- Find World Suicide Prevention Day 2016 resources and guides relating to the theme of connecting, communicating and caring in suicide prevention.
National Suicide Prevention Week
- Share the resources from the American Association for Suicidology.
- Plan a suicide prevention activity in your community.
- Explore resources from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
- Check out and share these resources from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Other Resources:
- Live Through This: collection of portraits and stories of suicide attempt survivors, as told by those survivors.
- The Way Forward: Pathways to hope, recovery, and wellness with insights from lived experience(policy, program, and practice recommendations from suicide attempt survivors).