suicide prevention

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Suicide Rate Remained Near Record High Last Year

But 'a leveling off of any increase in suicide is cautiously promising news'

(Newser) - US suicides last year remained at about the highest level in the nation's history, preliminary data suggests. A little over 49,300 suicide deaths were reported in 2023, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number could grow a little as some death...

Construction Industry Faces Suicide Crisis

With deaths rising, industry is stepping up outreach efforts

(Newser) - The figures on suicide in the construction industry are stark: According to the most recent data available, around 6,000 construction workers in the US died by suicide in 2022, an increase from 2021, NBC News reports. That's six times the number of deaths in the industry from workplace...

New Suicide-Prevention Option Drew 50K Veterans Last Year

VA initiative offers free emergency suicide-prevention aid to veterans, ex-service members

(Newser) - An emergency suicide-prevention initiative launched last year by the Department of Veterans Affairs has resonated with its target audience. The agency announced Wednesday that so far, almost 50,000 veterans and other ex-service members have made use of the program. The benefit allows those eligible to go to any VA-...

A Shocking Death May Reflect a Disturbing Trend

Suicides among young Black people, including Cheslie Kryst, are rising

(Newser) - On January 30, Cheslie Kryst —crowned Miss USA in 2019—committed suicide by jumping to her death from her apartment in Manhattan. She was 30 and already an accomplished lawyer and Emmy-nominated correspondent for the TV show Extra. As the New York Times’ Dodai Stewart reports, Kryst’s death...

After a Simple Switch, Suicide Hotline Sees a Huge Increase

Last month, contacts with the hotline were up 45% compared to year prior

(Newser) - Update: Since July 16 when 988 became the new suicide prevention hotline number in the US, the amount of people reaching out to it has increased and wait times have decreased, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services released last week. In August of this...

Mental Health Equivalent of 911 Goes Live in July

988 will connnect people to crisis counselors

(Newser) - From July 16, Americans experiencing mental health crises will only have to remember a three-digit number to get help: 988. Bipartisan legislation signed by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 established the equivalent of 911 for mental health emergencies. People who call, text, or contact the number online will be connected...

Will America Be Ready to Answer All the 988 Calls?

With 988, advocates see opportunity to change mental health care, but old problems persist

(Newser) - The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is undergoing a major overhaul. Starting in July, Americans in need of crisis counseling won't have to dial 1-800-273-8255—they'll instead be able to use the much simpler 988. It's the result of legislation signed by Trump in 2020, and in December,...

Longer Boot Camp to Address Character, Suicide Issues

Navy training will cover more areas, including extremism

(Newser) - The Navy is adding two weeks to boot camp this year in a major overhaul aimed at improving recruits' war fighting and emergency skills while also focusing on suicide prevention and character issues such as sexual assault, hazing, and extremism in the ranks. Navy officials said Friday that expanding boot...

Logic's Song About Suicide May Have Saved Hundreds of Lives

Reduction in suicides, increase in lifeline calls followed interest in hip-hop artist's '1-800-273-8255'

(Newser) - A hit 2017 song describing suicidal ideation, whose title is the number of the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, may have saved hundreds of lives, according to a new study. Hip-hop artist Logic penned "1-800-273-8255" in response to his own feelings of depression, as well as his conversations with...

It Will Soon Be Much Easier to Call Suicide Hotline

FCC plans to set up '988' as national suicide prevention hotline number

(Newser) - In most emergencies, you only need to dial three digits to get help: 911. But for people considering suicide, it takes a lot more digits than that to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Thanks to a proposal advanced Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission, that will soon change. The...

During Suicide Awareness Week, 2 High-Profile Deaths

And both of them worked in mental health advocacy

(Newser) - It's National Suicide Prevention Week , and in a tragic twist, two high-profile suicides are making headlines—both of them having a direct link to mental health advocacy.
  • Gregory Eells, who for six months had served as the executive director of counseling and psychological services at the University of Pennsylvania,
...

Devices, Bad for Teens? Now They Might Help

Patterns of smartphone use could indicate changes in mental health

(Newser) - Rising suicide rates and depression in US teens and young adults have prompted researchers to ask a provocative question: Could the same devices that some people blame for contributing to tech-age angst also be used to detect it? The idea has sparked a race to develop apps that warn of...

Calls to VA Suicide Line Went to Voicemail

In-crisis veterans put on hold, sent to voicemail, with calls never returned: report

(Newser) - The Oscar-winning film Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 documents the counselors who man the phones for the 24-hour service, but it never mentions the suicidal veterans who are put on hold or sent to voicemail, with calls never returned—a fact made public last week in a report from the...

Study Finds Powerful, Simple Way to Reduce Suicide

Talk therapy helped those most at risk, study says

(Newser) - Talk therapy is a simple but powerful way to stop people at high risk of suicide from harming themselves, according to new research. In a study published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, researchers who tracked tens of thousands of Danes over an 18-year period found that suicides were down 26%...

Every 40 Seconds, Someone Commits Suicide: WHO

'Major public health problem' is No. 2 cause of death among people 15-29

(Newser) - With the suicide of Robin Williams still painfully fresh, the World Health Organization released a startling statistic today: Someone takes his or her own life every 40 seconds—which equates to about 800,000 deaths a year, reports the BBC . Other findings in the WHO study : Suicide is the second-leading...

Grandson of SF Suicide Net Advocate Jumps to Death

'It's not the bridge's fault,' says former transit director

(Newser) - Heartbreak for the transit official who spearheaded efforts to install a suicide barrier at the Golden Gate Bridge: His own grandson has become the latest person to leap to his death from the bridge. John Moylan, 86, was the director of the Golden Gate Bridge Transit District when the prevention...

Golden Gate Suicides Hit Record High

Campaigners call for safety net after 46 deaths

(Newser) - A grim new milestone at one of the world's most popular suicide spots: Some 46 people jumped to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge last year, it was announced yesterday. That's the most recorded since the San Francisco landmark opened in 1937, per the Chronicle . Campaigners say...

Military Suicides Hit New High in 2012

349 suicides exceeded Afghanistan death toll

(Newser) - Military suicides hit a grim new high in 2012, and experts believe that the problem may only get worse despite the Pentagon's best efforts, the AP finds. There were a total of 349 suicides among active-duty troops, the highest since the Pentagon began closely tracking the problem in 2001...

Facebook's Latest Mission: Prevent Suicides

Site will urge users who post distressing comments to get help

(Newser) - Concerned about one of your Facebook friends? The social networking site will soon allow you to report any suicidal comments you see, and Facebook will follow up by sending the user an email with the number of a suicide prevention hotline and instructions on how to chat with a counselor...

Marines' 'Poster Boy' for Suicide Prevention Kills Self

Clay Hunt did 'everything right,' still couldn't be saved

(Newser) - When Clay Hunt killed himself at his Houston apartment last week, he became exactly the sort of grim military statistic he'd battled so hard against. The 28-year-old had faced survivor's guilt and battlefield trauma head on, starring in a lauded public service ad campaign that urged his comrades to get...

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