NEW
YORK, April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks
the release of the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention,
an important milestone and rallying point for organizations
nationwide working to address this important public health issue.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) applauds the
Biden Administration for its efforts to directly address suicide,
which is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.
The National Strategy is a comprehensive vision that is in line
with AFSP's long-standing mission to save lives and bring hope to
those affected by suicide, and our public policy priorities. The
strategic pillars of the approach clearly lay out areas of impact
and alignment for all those working to end suicide, including those
who have been affected by it. This new strategy looks forward to
the next 10 years and is an update to the approach launched in
2012. It includes the first ever Federal Action Plan that contains
more than 200 actions across the government to be implemented over
the next three years. Through the prevention and education work of
AFSP's chapters across the country, our funding of research, and
policy and advocacy, we are proud to support the goals of this
plan.
"The National Strategy is the nation's roadmap for suicide
prevention. To be successful in addressing suicide, we need
everyone involved – locally, statewide and nationally, and we need
the public and private sectors working together," said Robert Gebbia, CEO of the American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention. "AFSP has been dedicated to these pillars
for some time, and we will continue to invest our time, expertise,
and resources into making progress, but we cannot do it alone. We
are hopeful that the National Strategy will be a catalyst for the
nation to come together to solve this critical public health
challenge."
The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention is grounded in four
areas of focus, or pillars, that cut across key sectors of society
that address the gaps, guide and catalyze collective efforts
towards the goal of preventing suicide. These pillars focus on (1)
Community-Based Suicide Prevention, (2) Treatments and Crisis
Services, (3) Surveillance, Quality Improvement, and Research, and
for the first time, (4) Health Equity in Suicide Prevention. AFSP
efforts supporting these critical areas follow.
Community-Based Suicide Prevention
AFSP has prioritized community-based suicide prevention for the
past two decades through our nationwide chapter network. With 74
chapters across 50 states, Washington,
D.C., and Puerto Rico we
have boots-on-the-ground in communities across the country that
allow us to deliver solutions directly to communities with local
partnerships being essential for greater impact. Our chapter
network includes tens of thousands of individuals and families who
are personally touched by suicide either via suicide loss and/or
lived experience who in turn support and advocate on behalf of
thousands of people impacted by suicide in their communities.
Treatment and Crisis Services
In the past six years, AFSP has invested in health system
implementation of evidence-based suicide prevention clinical
practice to support access to Treatment and Crisis Services. These
practices include the safety net that can save lives via health
systems: screening, suicide risk assessment, brief interventions
such as Safety Planning and Lethal Means Counseling, follow-up, and
referrals to longer-term suicide risk reducing treatments. We have
also established partnerships with leading mental health
organizations focused on scaling efforts across the country to
train clinicians on mental health and suicide preventive patient
care. AFSP has been a leading voice for making mental health care
accessible and affordable through mental health parity.
AFSP has also been at the forefront of advocacy for the
designation of the 3-digit suicide prevention for 988 Suicide and
Crisis Lifeline, our nation's mental health and substance use
crisis hotline. As a part of this effort, AFSP has been working
hard to urge Congress and state legislatures to take necessary
steps to build a comprehensive and sustainable crisis response
system to sufficiently meet the rising demand for suicide, mental
health, and substance use care.
Surveillance, Quality Improvement, and Research
As the leading private funder of suicide prevention research
globally, AFSP has been investing in the research field for the
past 35 years and is an active contributor to the development of
the national research agenda for suicide prevention. Our
organization invests over $32 million
annually in research studies and attracts new researchers and
identifies key gap areas that can be lifesaving. Our research
portfolio is highly diverse representing cross-disciplinary fields
across neurobiology, genetics, clinical, community, and cultural
researchers. AFSP's research priorities include diversity and
equity, higher risk populations, and suicide loss and healing
research.
We are an active member of the National Syndromic Surveillance
Program (NSSP) data and surveillance group, sharing data with the
CDC to support coordinated responses to public health threats. We
build on this work by supporting a researcher community through
training and partnership with the International Academy of Suicide
Research (IASR) and the Suicide Research Symposium.
Health Equity in Suicide Prevention
Equity is a cross-cutting theme across AFSP's work and we
continually advocate for policies and pursue partnerships, programs
and initiatives that focus on health equity in suicide prevention.
Our fight to end suicide includes advocating for improved data
collection and access to culturally informed and evidence-informed
mental healthcare and suicide prevention services, and supports for
specific populations including marginalized communities,
disproportionately impacted by suicide.
We have worked with the National Latino Behavioral Health
Association (NLBHA), to co-develop a suicide prevention program for
Hispanic/Latinx communities. We are collaborating with Omega Psi
Phi, an international fraternity, to implement our new suicide
prevention program for Black and African American communities on
HBCU campuses. Another key partner is Soul Shop, a national
organization of culturally competent faith experts equipping
congregations to minister to those impacted by suicide, with whom
AFSP co-developed a faith-based suicide prevention day-long
workshop for Black and African American churches. More recently,
AFSP launched a suicide prevention program for Black and African
American communities informed by Black experts from the community.
Additionally, our ongoing research priorities focus on
underrepresented populations and researchers in those
populations.
Going forward AFSP is excited to continue the important work of
executing this strategy with partners and collaborators from across
the country. These efforts will include cross-sector initiatives
that build on our current partnerships focused on regional and
national impact across government agencies, academia, healthcare,
and workplaces including key industry sectors with high-risk
populations. We will keep our focus on creating real solutions that
save lives and leverage our strengths to advance initiatives that
can reduce suicide.
Media interested in learning more about suicide, warning signs,
and prevention can visit our website at www.afsp.org. For insight
on how to report on suicide: https://afsp.org/for-journalists. It
is important to NOT mention the method of suicide in reporting as
this can lead to possible suicide contagion.
If you need help right now, please call the 988 Suicide and
Crisis Lifeline.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated
to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide,
including those who have experienced a loss. AFSP creates a culture
that's smart about mental health through public education and
community programs, develops suicide prevention through research
and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide.
Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and
headquartered in New York, with a
public policy office in Washington,
DC, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states, DC and
Puerto Rico, with programs and
events nationwide. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual
Report and join the conversation on suicide prevention by
following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube,
LinkedIn and TikTok.
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SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention