JUMP TO: Resources for Children, Youth, & Families | Resources for System of Care Providers & Professionals
In September, we come together nationwide in observance of
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
This September, for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, we invite you to T.A.L.K. More: Take Action with Love and Kindness. Recognize the power you have, and T.A.L.K. with youth and families around you!
The NTTAC Team is committed to supporting the mental health of children, youth, and families during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and beyond. As part of that commitment, we want to make it easy for you to T.A.L.K. More. Below, you can explore our special collection of resources. The collection is divided into two sections: one for children, youth, and families, and the other for professionals in the system of care. We hope you use these resources and share them with your networks—sharing information is a great way to T.A.L.K. More!
And, if you want to share even more information than what you see below, check out this Social Media Toolkit on Suicide Prevention from the Texas Department of Families and Protective Services. It contains social media posts, resources, and graphics that you can use to raise awareness about maintaining good mental health.
Take the Pledge
Preventing suicide may sound intimidating, but getting started is simpler than you may realize. Take our quick suicide prevention pledge and post on social media (#TALKmore22) with a sign saying: “I took the pledge!” Then, put your pledge into practice!
The NTTAC T.A.L.K. More Pledge:
I pledge to T.A.L.K. (Take Action with Love and Kindness) More! I will learn the suicide warning signs. I will check in with anyone I’m worried about, and will offer support, not judgment. I will help create a safe space where it is okay to T.A.L.K. about mental health!
National Suicide Prevention Numbers and Chat lines
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at https://988lifeline.org/chat
- Línea de Prevención del Suicidio y Crisis: llama al 988 o envía un texto al 988, o chat via https://988lifeline.org/chat (en inglés)
- Deaf and Hard of Hearing: for TTY users, use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988
- The Trevor Project (LGBTQ youth): 1-866-488-7386, text START to 678678, or visit TrevorChat (www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now)
- The National Parent Hotline is a 24/7 crisis line offering emotional support to parents
- How to Talk to a Child About a Suicide Attempt in Your Family offers practical guidance on supporting young children through a traumatizing crisis/experience.
- In Coping with a Parent’s Suicide, Child Mind Institute addresses strategies to promote healthy grieving in children.
- Explore this guide from the University of Utah for specific guidelines on talking to different age groups about suicide. Age groups range from the youngest children up to teens.
- Use this blog from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for a deeper dive into communicating effectively with your teen about suicide.
- For practical, actionable prevention advice for parents, check out 12 Things Parents Can Do to Help Prevent Suicide.
- Spotlighting the risks associated with pregnancy and the postpartum period, this resource page on Maternal Mental Health addresses strategies for self-care and supporting others.
- The Tip Sheet for Families: Youth Suicide and Mental Health Concerns During COVID-19 provides information on recognizing signs of crisis and taking action.
- Designed for youth and their family members, this resource page on Youth Mental Health combines information on self-care with safety plans and ways to help someone in crisis.
- The Seize the Awkward Campaign offers tools—from conversation guides to tips—to facilitate sometimes uncomfortable but potentially life-saving discussions of mental health.
- Effective postvention services—including counseling and interventions after a suicide—can prevent future suicides. This tip sheet from the American Psychological Association offers a succinct, practical primer to postvention.
- This success story—Prevention in Practice: Care Transitions at New Hampshire Hospital—details how the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire (NAMI NH) and New Hampshire Hospital established a care transitions program for youth inpatients.
- Refer to this tipsheet from the American Psychological Association for a quick overview of risk factors, warning signs, and concrete action steps.
- These Trauma-Informed Telehealth Considerations for Youth with Suicidal and Self-Harm Ideation and Behaviors provide guidelines for doing suicide risk assessment via virtual platforms—a particularly vital resource given the uncertainty surround the Covid-19 pandemic.
- A recent issue of the National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC’s newsletter, titled Suicide, Trauma, and Finding a Way to Heal, spotlights practical, culturally relevant strategies for suicide prevention in Native communities.
- From the Congressional Black Caucus’ Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, Ring the Alarm: the Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America outlines mental health trends among Black youth and recommends policies to address it.
- In this podcast, Screening Youth For Suicide Risk: Can it be done in a busy pediatric practice?, Dr. Lia Gaggino discusses how physicians, PCPs, pediatricians, family doctors, internists can integrate the NIMH’s ASK Suicide Screening Tool within their practice.
- Trauma Informed Suicide Prevention is a three-part webinar series from the Pacific Southwest MHTTC designed specifically for school administrators and other leaders looking to implement evidence-based suicide prevention plans.
- This resource from the National Association of School Psychologists reviews how school psychologists and other members of crisis response teams can incorporate culturally responsive methods into their crisis plans.
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