American Indian Youth Suicide - We All Have A Role To Play

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Health. Discussion »

WASHINGTON – American Indian youth commit suicide at a rate 3.5 times that of the national average. Periodically, American Indian youth suicides are clustered in time and place. When this occurs, the suicide rate soars to 10 times the national average.

Everyone has a role in preventing suicides. The goals and objectives in the National Strategy work together to promote wellness, increase protection, reduce risk, and promote effective treatment and recovery.

National Strategy Points Released

The following National Strategy was released on Monday as part of the National Suicide Prevention Week activities:

From encouraging dialogue about suicidal behavior to promoting policies that support suicide prevention, the National Strategy states that suicide prevention efforts should:

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

Foster positive public dialogue, counter shame, prejudice, and silence; and build public support for suicide prevention;
Address the needs of vulnerable groups, be tailored to the cultural and situational contexts in which they are offered, and seek to eliminate disparities;
Be coordinated and integrated with existing efforts addressing health and behavioral health and ensure continuity of care;
Bring together public health and behavioral health;
Promote efforts to reduce access to lethal means among individuals with identified suicide risks; and
Apply the most up to date knowledge base for suicide prevention.

We All Have a Role to Play Video Released

The National Strategy emphasizes community involvement in preventing suicides. Tribal communities can utilize the We All Have a Role to Play video that was released by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. (See Above)

posted September 12, 2012 12:10 pm edt