September 08, 2020

National Suicide Prevention Awareness Week (September 6–12, 2020)

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. More specifically, this week, September 6–12, is National Suicide Prevention Week. World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10th as well. Due to the gravitas of the issue, it is important that we handle discussions of suicide with care and intentionality, being aware of its grim reality while still being mobillized to act against it. We need to be willing to hold the space for people who have lost loved ones to suicide and to listen to somebody who's wrestled with suicidal thoughts in their own life. On average, 123 people in the United States die from suicide each day. It is the tenth leading cause of death in the US overall, and the second leading cause for people 10-34 years old. I’ve lost people in my own life to suicide, so this issue profoundly resonates with me. I’m tearing up a bit as I type this. Especially during a time when mental health issues have increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a comprehensive Center for Disease Control and Prevention report concludes, we need to prioritize reaching out to other people, in safe socially distanced ways, and letting them know how much their presence matters to us. We might not even know when people in our lives are wrestling with suicidal thoughts or inclinations. We may never know how much of a difference a kind word makes. Admittedly, I’m struggling with words right now, but I hope that this week, this month, and year-round, we are dedicated to suicide prevention in words and in action. Here are some resources that can help us participant in the National Suicide Prevention Awareness Week movement and to sustain these efforts throughout our lives going forward:

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