GPB Passport icon GPB Passport icon Passport
GPB donate icon GPB donate icon Donate
Sign Up For Our Newsletter

News Articles: Suicide prevention

After two student suicides over one October weekend, UNC students created a makeshift memorial on the Chapel Hill campus. To reduce the risk of suicide contagion, any memorial sites or activities should be limited, experts say, and should not glorify, vilify or stigmatize the deceased student or their death.

Colleges are turning to science to limit suicide contagion and help heal campuses

The new strategy is called "postvention." It means having a plan built on truth, compassion and counseling that quickly addresses the mental health needs of friends and classmates after a suicide.

|
By:
  • Aneri Pattani
Multiethnic teenage girls touching each others' face

Summit Addresses Rising Rates Of Attempted Suicide By Teenage Girls

Recent data from Georgia’s state health department show an increase in suicide attempts by teenage girls. That’s why the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities is hosting a girls teen summit Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021.

|
By:
David Nathan Thompson looks out from his apartment in Columbus, Georgia, in 2011.

This Is What Happens When Georgians Experience Mental Health Or Addiction Crisis

Increased funding for mental health treatment is desperately needed in Georgia, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse. The state has a total of 533 beds for adults in crisis with a mental health or substance use emergency.

|
By:
An abrupt spike in suicide deaths among students in the Clark County School District has officials in the Las Vegas district wondering if pressures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic might have been part of what fueled the increase.

Child Psychiatrists Warn That The Pandemic May Be Driving Up Kids' Suicide Risk

A cluster of suicides in Las Vegas, plus a troubling rise in youth suicide attempts observed in ERs nationwide, is raising fears that the pandemic is fueling a children's mental health crisis.

|
By:
  • Rhitu Chatterjee

Make Space, Listen, Offer Hope: How To Help A Child At Risk Of Suicide

If a young person says they want to end their life, how do you help? First, don't panic. Suicide is preventable. Here's advice for helping young people in crisis, from people who've lived through it.

|
By:
  • Rhitu Chatterjee

How To Help Someone At Risk Of Suicide

What can you do when you fear someone you know may be considering suicide? It can feel daunting, but suicide prevention experts say we all can help someone at risk by reaching out and showing we care.

|
By:
  • Rhitu Chatterjee
Mental health advocates say 988, a simple three-digit number, will be easier for people to remember in the midst of a mental health emergency.

New Law Creates 988 Hotline For Mental Health Emergencies

President Trump has signed a bipartisan bill creating a three-digit hotline for mental health emergencies. Mental health advocates say it'll bring mental health crisis response into the 21st century.

|
By:
  • Rhitu Chatterjee
Some 1,892 American flags are installed on the National Mall in Washington, DC in 2014. The Iraq and Afghanistan veterans installed the flags to represent the 1,892 veterans and service members who committed suicide this year as part of the "We've Got Your Back: IAVA's Campaign to Combat Suicide."

White House Plan Breaks Taboo: A Focus On Guns And Veteran Suicide

The Trump Administration's new suicide prevention strategy mentions the touchy subject of gun-safety. It will aim to fight the stigma around people seeking help during a mental health crisis.

|
By:
  • Quil Lawrence
GBI Agent Trebor Randle

Officials Ask Media To Spread Awareness Of Rising Suicide Rates, Prevention Tips

The media has a big role to play in suicide prevention, officials said Thursday. Especially when it comes to at-risk children as young as 9 years old,...

|
By:
Marquise Tolbert of Fairburn, Georgia, tweeted the above statement before he took his own life in 2012.

Georgia Mother Remembers Late Son

Suicide is a leading cause of death in Georgia and has touched the lives of many people in the state. Schrence Echols of Fairburn, Georgia, lost her son...

|
By:
The New York Times dedicated three reporters, part of the front page and a two-page spread to the memory of Kate Spade.

Farai Chideya: National Media Forgot Audience In Coverage Of Kate Spade Tragedy

When fashion designer Kate Spade died last week of an apparent suicide, there was an outpouring of grief, from Twitter to the front page of the New York...

|
By:
Suicide rates increased in nearly every state from 1999 through 2016.

Why Are More Americans Taking Their Own Lives, And What Can Be Done To Stop Them?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and according to a new...

|
By: