Pediatric health clinicians and all adults who work with youth have opportunities to engage in youth suicide prevention initiatives in their communities. Cross-sectoral partnerships are critical to supporting youth in all places that they live, learn, work, and play.
This section of the Blueprint provides strategies and concrete examples to help pediatric health clinicians, schools, and other community partners work together toward youth suicide prevention efforts. The ideas outlined in this section of the Blueprint are intended to work within large-scale comprehensive approaches to suicide prevention, including those outlined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
Efforts are needed to address disparities in youth suicide risk
To equitably address suicide prevention in community and school settings, it is critical to recognize and address disparities in how mental health symptoms and behavioral problems are recognized and managed.
Youth have disparate opportunities and experiences in school and community settings, due to wide variation in social factors, community resources, and structural forces such as systemic racism and discrimination.
Youth may face additional barriers to mental health support in schools/communities based on many factors:
- Race or ethnicity
- Sexual orientation or gender identity
- Special health care needs, including mental health conditions
- Language differences
- Involvement in the child welfare system
- Under-resourced schools
Note: Suicide rates are not directly tied to race, gender, or any other social construct. Rather, youth may experience discrimination or long-standing health, social, or systemic inequities that may impact their development and risk for suicide.
For example, Black students and American Indian/Alaska Native students are more likely to receive a disciplinary response to mental health-related behavior changes than white students who are more likely to receive support and referral to mental health services, contributing to a phenomenon known as the “school to prison pipeline."
Solutions include training for staff using a trauma-informed approach and sustained efforts to address inequities in the school and other settings. For more information on disparities in suicide risk, see the Youth Suicide Prevention: Strategies for Clinical Settings section of this Blueprint.
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Pediatric health clinicians have expertise in child and adolescent health and understand the unique ways that mental health is impacted at various stages of development. This expertise can be extended beyond the clinic by engaging in cross-sector involvement in the community.
Team-based care and collaborative or integrated care models involving medical providers and community partners (eg, schools, local and state agencies) are crucial and necessary components of providing high-quality care. Team-based and collaborative/integrated care builds on the foundation of the medical home by reaching out to a broad array of participants in the life of a child and incorporating them into the care provided. These relationships can be critical to supporting youth suicide prevention in the community.
Groups that pediatric health clinicians can partner with to reduce youth suicide risk
Pediatric health clinicians who are interested in addressing youth suicide prevention at the community level can consider working with key partners across many different fields. The first step in this work is to check in with partners in your community, to find out what suicide prevention initiatives already exist in your area.
Consider checking in with potential partners, including:
- Schools or School Districts
- Colleges and Universities
- Parent groups such as your local Parent Teacher Associations/Organizations
- Faith-based/Religious organizations
- Community leaders or tribal elders
- Youth (consider peer-education groups or school clubs)
- Community groups such as a Youth Club, 4H club, or Boys and Girls Club
- Scouting or sports organizations
- Group and residential care organizations
- Foster and Adoptive Parent Association
- Organizations serving children with special health care needs
- Mental health organizations
- LGBTQ2S+ organizations
- County mental health clinics or crisis centers
- Organizations involved with the juvenile justice system
- Academic enrichment/Tutoring organizations
- College advising or student-life organizations
- Elected officials
- Local or state health departments
- Youth suicide or bereavement support groups
- Your state suicide prevention coordinator
- Your local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
- Your local chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- Your local chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)
Strategies for authentic engagement with organizations that serve diverse cultural populations
Community engagement is a key strategy for advancing suicide prevention within diverse communities.
Sustained community engagement can help reduce barriers to care and service use and can increase engagement among under-resourced populations.
Strategies for authentic engagement include:
- Acknowledge the significant differences in mental health lived experiences and unmet mental health needs between marginalized and non-marginalized youth populations
- Convene health providers, researchers, policy makers, and community members to align the needs and perspectives of the population of interest in developing effective approaches for clinical care and research
- Strategies for engagement should consider cultural factors and strengths of the population of interest
- Taking a humble approach to learning from diverse partners, develop strategies and actions collaboratively
- Consider co-developing linguistically and culturally nuanced messages and materials as part of the strategy. Use resources such as this one from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center
- Communicate and follow up with all partners on a regular basis about progress, barriers, and outcomes
Initiating cross-sectoral partnerships
When building a new partnership to address youth suicide prevention in your community, follow these key steps to develop clear priorities and expectations from the beginning:
- Step 1: Understand the scope of the issue. Before launching a new partnership or program, take a look at the data on rates of suicidal ideation, behavior among youth in your community
- Step 2: Find shared goals. Starting at the outset, it is beneficial to clarify the suicide prevention missions and goals for partner organizations involved. These conversations are essential to identifying mission overlap and leveraging organizational differences for greater impact
- Step 3: Consider operational differences. It’s critical to identify organizational dissimilarities in operations, communication, language, and time scaling, as partner organizations may envision different project timelines or use different communications strategies
- Step 4: Establish partnership value. Partner organizations may be driven by different objectives. It’s important to identify shared organizational values so that both partners can better advocate for the work internally
- Step 5: Identify metrics for success. To bolster partnership longevity and sustainability, it’s essential that partners agree upon metrics for success, as well as pinpoint how those metrics will be measured and communicated, both internally and externally. The ability to communicate smaller wins along the way can help partners stay engaged and adopt the cause
Tips for engaging partners in suicide prevention
- Convene your team: include key leaders as well as “natural champions” from all organizations
- Identify shared goals and consider unique needs and factors in your community and organizations
- Seek partnership and input from all populations-of-focus—especially youth and individuals with lived experience— to ensure the prevention program is built to serve the needs of the community-of-focus
- Be aware of the impacts of bias and systemic racism and discrimination on suicide risk in your community: work with partners to recognize and address these issues openly in program development
- Identify potential barriers and brainstorm strategies to address them
- Review and improve existing suicide prevention policies and procedures
- Consider a triage and referral plan for at-risk youth
- Develop and maintain a list of local mental health resources and referrals
- Conduct or encourage training on basic, evidence-based suicide prevention for all organizational staff
- Identify special considerations for youth who have attempted suicide (eg, re-entry to school)
- Consider a Postvention Plan in the event of suicide loss. This is important not only for schools, but other types of community settings such as faith organizations and other groups
- Agree on shared language about suicide and prevention
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Suicide prevention is an ongoing process. There are many ways that pediatric health clinicians, school personnel, and other adults who work with youth can engage in individual events or ongoing prevention initiatives.
Individual conversations or presentations about youth suicide prevention don’t need to be comprehensive or “one and done.” Prevention efforts work best when they lead to an ongoing relationship and organizational improvement over time.
Opportunities to engage with schools
- Pediatric clinicians should be aware that schools play an important role in collaborative care models to promote and support pediatric mental health, and partner with them accordingly
- Speak to your local school board/school administration about the important role that schools can play in preventing suicide. Make sure they are aware of the resource Model School District Policy for Suicide Prevention, which has template policies that schools can customize
- Schools can operate with a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to support students’ academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs through Universal, Selective, and Indicated prevention levels
- Reach out to your local school’s counselor, social worker, psychologist, or nurse and offer your support. You can volunteer to:
- Review and update their local mental health clinician resource list
- Discuss any challenges they are facing, particularly related to supporting students who are struggling and getting clinical evaluations
- Make sure they are aware of youth suicide prevention programs and resources for students, school staff and parents/caregivers
- Talk about the suicide risk screening program that the school is implementing, and offer to support school nurses/school-based health centers with screening
- Consider the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) screener, which can be used in schools
- Assist the school with developing their policy and protocols for responding to youth identified with emerging or current suicide risk
- Introduce After A Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools to help schools form crisis teams and be ready if a suicide does happen in their school
- Encourage schools to utilize evidence-based suicide prevention programs and social emotional learning curricula for youth K-12, and to implement school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. For example:
- Work with schools to promote diversity and trauma-informed care in the way that they understand and address mental health symptoms in students:
- Black adolescents with mental health concerns may express symptoms differently than white peers, often resulting in behavioral or punitive consequences
- Historical and secondary trauma related to racism and discrimination can impact mental health
- Systemic racism, unconscious biases, and discriminatory policies can interfere with recognition and treatment of suicide risk among youth of color and youth who identify as LGBTQ2S+
- Trained mental health professionals and peer-to-peer support programs can promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in building supportive school environments and suicide prevention programs
- Offer to speak to middle or high school students at school or at an after-school club about mental health and suicide prevention. Consider partnering with an AFSP Chapter to host an evidence-informed program such as It’s Real: Teens and Mental Health.
- See the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) for more information on school policy to prevent youth suicide
- In the event of a suicide in your local school district, reach out to provide support and resources:
Opportunities to engage with colleges and universities
- Connect with campus administrators about the important role that college/universities can play in preventing suicide.
- Helpful resources:
- Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s comprehensive resources and information about preventing suicide on campus.
- SAMHSA Prevention and Treatment of Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among College Students
- Jed Foundation’s Campus Program
- AFSP’s Interactive Screening Program
- College athletics mental health resources
- Work with college/universities to promote diversity and trauma-informed care in the way that they promote mental and behavioral health in students
- Contact your local college or university in the event of a suicide to ensure they are aware of Postvention: A Guide to Response to Suicide on College Campuses
- Connect with a university chapter of Active Minds
- Utilize Steve Fund resources and guidance for recommendations for colleges, universities, and employers for promoting mental health in students of color
- Helpful resources:
Opportunities to engage with community or parent organizations
- Identify local community prevention efforts, such as a state suicide prevention coalition or volunteer with your local AFSP Chapter, both of which benefit from having a clinician involved
- Contact a local faith-based organization or other community organization and offer to speak to parents/caregivers about taking care of children's mental health
- Offer to meet with a park district, athletics department, or local sports organization to discuss youth mental health and suicide prevention among athletes
- Engage with parent groups to increase awareness of youth suicide. Utilize talking points and resources for speaking to parents/caregivers about suicide and other mental health conditions
Opportunities to engage with other medical professionals
- Engage with your AAP chapter or other local medical groups (eg, physician organizations, nursing organizations, or other professional associations) to engage your colleagues in suicide prevention efforts
- Develop working relationships with emergency departments and colleagues in child and adolescent psychiatry, clinical psychology, and other mental health professions to optimally evaluate and manage the care of adolescents who are at risk for suicide
- Familiarize yourself with local, state, and national resources that are concerned with treatment of psychopathology and suicide prevention in youth, including local hospitals with psychiatric units, mental health agencies, family and children’s services, crisis hotlines, and crisis intervention centers
Opportunities to engage with the juvenile justice system
- Connect with leadership and staff in local juvenile detention facilities about the importance of suicide prevention and mental health promotion for justice-involved youth:
- See the National Response Plan for Suicide Prevention in Corrections from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and AFSP
- Promote principles for comprehensive care delivery for justice-involved youth, including:
- Initial mental health screenings for all youth confined for more than one week
- Access to mental health and substance use services for youth
- Use of trauma-informed care principles in detention facilities
- Understanding of and care for the unique needs of diverse youth within juvenile justice systems, including youth of color, youth who identify as LGBTQ2S+, and youth with special health care needs
- Encourage ongoing suicide risk assessment within juvenile justice facilities
Opportunities to engage with the child welfare system
- Connect with leadership and staff in local child welfare, group home, and foster care systems about the importance of suicide prevention and mental health promotion for youth involved in the child welfare system
- Promote the use of trauma-informed care principles when working with youth and families
- Offer resources available at no cost, including:
- AFSP’s More than Sad program
- Family Acceptance Project Posters to support youth who identify as LGBTQ & Gender-Diverse
- Crisis Text Line’s Spread the Word page with posters and social media shareables
- Encourage transition-planning for youth aging out of foster care
- Ensure this planning includes uninterrupted mental health care and connection with a trusted adult
Opportunities to make your voice heard
- Write a letter to the editor, an op-ed in your local newspaper, or a blog for an online media organization on the important role everyone has in youth suicide prevention initiatives.
- Participate in advocacy activities that promote positive mental health and suicide prevention. For more resources on advocacy, visit:
Opportunities to engage after a suicide has occurred in your community
- Reach out to the school leadership team to ensure they are aware of the After A Suicide: Toolkit for Schools. Template language is included for school leaders to communicate with the students, parents/caregivers, media, and broader community to enhance healthy grieving and mitigate risk for suicide contagion
- Reach out to local media to ensure they are following the guidelines for safe messaging about suicide
- Ensure solid community mental health resources are being made available by the schools to students and parents/caregivers
- Share suicide loss & healing resources with the family if a patient dies by suicide
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Many community- and school-based programs have demonstrated evidence for increasing help-seeking and/or reducing suicide risk among youth.
A selection of evidence-based programs is outlined below as examples that may be useful or replicable in your community. Please note that this list is not intended to be exhaustive, and that inclusion of programs below should not be interpreted as official endorsement by AAP, AFSP, or NIMH.
AFSP’s More Than Sad Educator Training
In a wait-list control design study of 1475 teachers across 14 geographically diverse public-school districts in Pennsylvania, teachers who received More Than Sad training demonstrated improvements in knowledge and confidence in recognizing and engaging with at risk students. Self-reported and actual referrals to mental health resources increased among the trained teachers compared with the control group, and these gains persisted at 2-month follow up.
Celebrating Life Youth Suicide Prevention Program- White Mountain Apache Tribe
Using a comprehensive, multitiered youth suicide prevention program universal, selective, and indicated suicide prevention strategies were systematically employed over a period of six years among the White Mountain Apache of Arizona. Using programs included in this section such as Sources of Strength and ASIST alongside culturally customized curricula for native youth, this multi-pronged initiative achieved very positive results. The overall Apache suicide death rates dropped from 40.0 to 24.7 per 100 000 (38.3% decrease), and the rate among those aged 15 to 24 years dropped from 128.5 to 99.0 per 100 000 (23.0% decrease). The annual number of attempts also dropped from 75 (in 2007) to 35 individuals (in 2012). National rates remained relatively stable during this time, at 10 to 13 per 100 000.
CDC’s Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices
This technical package from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlines suicide prevention policy, programs, and practices with the best available evidence to prevent suicide. The package is designed to support communities and states in identifying strategies that are mostly likely to be successful.
Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Memorial Act Grants
Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Memorial Act grants fund youth suicide prevention activities in the US on college campus, community, and tribal settings in many states. Over a 15-year period, a large portion of counties in the US received financial support through GLS grants to engage in youth suicide prevention initiatives. These programs included outreach, awareness raising, screening, “gatekeeper” training (meaning training for key front-line roles to recognize risk and act), developing coalitions, policies/protocols, and supporting hotlines. Forty percent of GLS grants are awarded in rural areas of the US where suicide rates are higher and where resources for programs and clinical treatment tend to be much lower. Evaluation data from the GLS program has found that the program has both short- and long-term impacts on suicidal behaviors and deaths.
The Good Behavior Game
A universal classroom behavior management method, tested in first- and second-grade classrooms in inner city Baltimore, Maryland beginning in the 1985–1986 school year. Follow-up at ages 19–21 found significantly lower rates of drug and alcohol use disorders, smoking, antisocial personality disorder, delinquency, and incarceration for violent crimes, and over 50% reduced prevalence of suicidal ideation among students who had been in classes using the Good Behavior Game method.
Help for Life Program, Québec, Canada
A multi-pronged approach involving 40 organizations in Québec to carry out a province-wide prevention strategy, including media, training, and youth referrals to mental healthcare; the program is credited with contributing to a 33% decrease in suicides in the province from 22.2 per 100,000 in 1999 to 13.7 per 100,000 in 2012.
Model Adolescent Suicide Prevention Program for American Indian Youth in New Mexico
This public health approach to suicide prevention effort in an American Indian Tribal Nation was associated with a decrease in the number of self-destructive acts by an astonishing 73% over a 15-year period between 1988 and 2002, using lay education, trained peers, and referral to counseling. The frequency of suicide-related behaviors and attempts also declined significantly among adolescents.
Signs of Suicide
School-based suicide prevention program reaching over 50,000 students, which saw a 40-64% decrease in self-reported suicide attempts across 3 randomized controlled studies; the program utilizes “peer leaders” as well as faculty agents (eg, school counselors, educators) to increase awareness of signs of suicide, promote help seeking norms, and encourage community intervention at multiple levels.
Sources of Strength
Shifted schoolwide coping and help seeking norms, improved students’ perceptions of adult availability using student “peer leaders” who deliver messages and conduct prevention activities to enhance healthy coping and help seeking norms.
Youth Aware of Mental Health
School-based program to support youth ages 13-17 in promoting positive mental health practices. Program use has been associated with a significant reduction in suicide attempts and suicidal ideation.
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In addition to the above list of programs with evidence for increasing help-seeking or reducing suicide risk, many suicide prevention education programs are available that support community-based suicide prevention efforts. Examples are listed below. Please note that this list is not intended to be exhaustive, and that inclusion of programs below should not be interpreted as official endorsement by AAP, AFSP, or NIMH.
Suicide prevention education programs include:
- American Indian Life Skills Program
- ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training)
- Kognito for High School Educators
- LEADS for Youth: Linking Education and Awareness of Depression and Suicide
- Lifelines Curriculum
- safeTALK
- START
- Talk Saves Lives
- QPR
- Youth Aware of Mental Health
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Partnering with organizations that have expertise in suicide prevention can be very beneficial to building youth suicide prevention efforts in your community.
A selection of organizations that provide programs and resources for community-based suicide prevention activities is listed below. Please note that this list is not intended to be exhaustive, and that inclusion of programs below should not be interpreted as official endorsement by AAP, AFSP, or NIMH.
National Hotlines for Immediate Support
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: The lifeline offers phone, text and chat services.
Veterans Crisis Line: 1(800)273-TALK; Press “1” for veterans or active-duty military
Crisis Text Line: Text TALK to 741741 in US or Canada
Trevor Project: Text START to 678-678 or call 1(866)488-7386 or chat
Trans Lifeline: 1(877)565-8860 in US, 1(877)330-6366 in Canada
AAKOMA Project
- Organization focused on the emotional and behavioral health needs of youth and communities of color
- Youth can register for free virtual therapy and participate in events
Active Minds
American Academy of Pediatrics
- AAP suicide prevention campaign toolkit
- Engage with your local AAP chapter
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) National Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan
- National initiative addressing suicide prevention across Tribes, Tribal organizations, Urban Indian organizations, and the Indian Health Service (IHS)
- Resources for providers and community members
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
- Model School Policy on Suicide Prevention, After A Suicide Toolkit, and other school-based resources
- Guide for Talking to Children & Teens After Suicide
- Tips for Parents
- Gizmo’s Pawesome Guide to Mental Health for children grades 2-4
- Find your local AFSP Chapter to attend a program or get involved
Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI)
- Organization to support the health and wellness of Asian American populations
- Resources available in English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Hindi
Asian American Racism & Mental Health Resources
- Resources on Asian American racism and mental health, tailored toward students, parents, educators, mental health clinicians, and allies
- Program of Massachusetts General Hospital
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
- Organization dedicated to improving the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
- Resources to support health care access, quality, and equity
Asian Mental Health Collective
- Education and resources to support mental health for Asian, Pacific Islander, and South Asian American (APISAA) youth and adults
- Provider directory for APISAA therapists
Asians Do Therapy
- Organization dedicated to reducing stigma and increasing accessibility to mental health resources for the Asian community
- Step-by-step guide to accessing therapy for the first time
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
- Community-based and school-based mentoring programs for youth
- Mentoring Brothers in Action: Mentoring program for Black boys, sponsored as a partnership between Big Brothers Big Sisters and the nation’s 3 largest African American fraternities: Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Omega Psi Phi
- Operation Bigs: Mentoring program for children of military families
- Amachi Program: Mentoring program for children with incarcerated parents
Black Girls Smile, Inc.
- Mental health literacy programs and resources for Black girls
Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective
- Collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities
- Resources, training, and programs aimed to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing
Black Mental Health Alliance
- Programs and resources to support health and well-being of Black people and communities
- National directory of Black Psychiatrists of Americ
The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
- Organization dedicated to eradicating the stigma around mental health in the African American community
- Directory of mental health providers and programs
- Programs and services to support mental health
Center for Native American Youth
- National education and advocacy organization that works to improve the safety, health, and well-being of Native American youth by building direct partnerships with Native youth ages 24 & under
Children’s Safety Network
- Change package, factsheets, and resources related to prevention of suicide and self-harm
The Dougy Center
- Resources for youth and families who are grieving a suicide loss or other death
DBT In Schools
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a clinical therapy that has strong evidence for reducing suicide risk
- DBT In Schools has adapted the concepts & skills into a school-based curriculum format
Erika’s Lighthouse
Family Acceptance Project
- Resources, education and evidence-based posters that show how family accepting and rejecting behaviors contribute to risk and well-being for youth who identify as LGBTQ and gender diverse
GLSEN
- Resources to support safe and inclusive schools for youth who identify as LGBTQ2S+
Inclusive Therapists
- Mental health community committed to:
- Justice & equity for all intersectional identities
- Culturally affirming & responsive client care
- Centering the needs of marginalized, underserved populations
- Celebrating all identities and abilities in all bodies
- Decolonizing & destigmatizing mental healthcare
- Dismantling systemic oppression & white supremacy in mental healthcare
- Therapist directory and resources
Healthy Native Youth
- Health promotion curriculum and resources for health educators, teachers, and parents working to support American Indian/Alaska Native youth
Jason Foundation
- Resources and educational materials for youth, parents, educators, and community members to advance youth suicide prevention initiatives
JED Foundation
- Jed Foundation school-based suicide prevention programming
- Jed Campus Initiative
- Jed High School Initiative
Lee Thompson Young Foundation
- Organization aimed to erase stigma associated with mental illness
- Mental health education for African American communities.
Letters to Strangers
- Youth-run nonprofit organization seeking to destigmatize mental health and increase access to care
- Peer education, letter-writing, and youth-driven resources
Life is Precious
- Programs and resources to support Latina teens at risk of suicide
- Individual and group counseling, creative arts therapy, academic support, music, nutrition & wellness activities, and family services
Loveland Foundation
- Organization providing financial assistance to Black women and girls seeking therapy nationally
MANA, A National Latina Organization® (MANA)
- National grassroots organization representing the interests of Latina women, youth and families
- Programs to support Latina adolescents in education, skill-building, development, mentorship, and peer-support
Melanin & Mental Health®
- Organization that connects individuals with culturally competent clinicians committed to serving the mental health needs of Black & Latinx/Hispanic communities
- Therapist directory
- Between sessions podcast
- Resources to support mental health
Mental Health America
Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network
- Mental health resources for schools and educators
- Resources for supporting Indigenous youth in a holistic manner: Strengthening Resilience: Promoting Positive Mental Health Among Indigenous Youth
National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
- Resources and support to advance suicide prevention initiatives in:
National Alliance for Children’s Grief
- Education and resources for professionals working with children grieving a death or suicide loss
National Alliance for Hispanic Health
- Organization working to ensure that health incorporates the best of science, culture, and community
- Resources and programs to support overall health and wellbeing
National Alliance for Mental Illness
- NAMI Family Support Groups: peer-led support groups for adults with loved ones experiencing mental health symptoms
- NAMI Family-to-Family Classes: free, 8-session educational program for families and loved ones of people with mental health conditions
- Content and resources:
National American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network
- Resources to support the mental health of American Indian and Alaska Native populations
- School mental health resources
- Resources to promote racial equity and cultural diversity
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
- Programs and resources to support mental health in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities
- Provider directory for mental and behavioral health services for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations
National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide
- National center with the goal of reducing the rate of youth suicide attempts and deaths
- Education and programs to identify and address risk factors and support youth at risk of suicide
National Center for School Mental Health
- National center with the goal of strengthening school policies and programs for America’s youth
National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA)
- Organization serving as a unified national voice for Latino populations in the behavioral health arena
- Behavioral Health Interpreter Training
- Programs to support behavioral health
National Organization of People of Color Against Suicide
- Resources and support groups to support youth and families with lived experience of suicide
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
- Provider directory for healers and therapists of Asian and Pacific Islander descent
National Queer and Trans Therapist of Color (QTPOC) Network
- Resources and provider directory of QTPOC mental health practitioners
Not Ok App
- Smartphone application that serves as a pre-crisis tool to help users tell their friends or family then they’re “not okay.” Users can press a button in the app to immediately send a text to their trusted contacts if they are struggling with their mental health. The app also provides breathing exercises and links to crisis lines
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc
- Brother, You’re on My Mind: Changing the National Dialogue Regarding Mental Health Among African American Men
- Initiative and toolkit to help start conversations about mental health
- Partnership with National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
SanaMente/Each Mind Matters
- Spanish-language mental health resources serving residents of the state of California
Society for Prevention of Teen Suicide
South Asian Mental Health Alliance
- Non-profit community network to support mental health in South Asian communities
The Steve Fund
- Organization dedicated to supporting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of youth of color
- Programs and resources to support mental health
- Text STEVE to 741741 for mental health support tailored for youth from communities of color
Subtle Asian Mental Health
- Facebook group that describes itself as a place for people to talk about mental health issues without judgment
Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
- Education, training, and resources to raise awareness and prevent suicide
Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
The Trevor Project
Therapy for Black Girls
- Resources and therapist directory for Black women seeking mental health support
- Online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls
Therapy for Black Men
- Resources and therapist directory for Black men seeking mental health support
Therapy for Latinx
- Resources and therapist directory for Latinx populations seeking mental health support
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health
- Federal agency dedicated to improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations
- Resources and information about improving access to mental health care and treatment
We R Native
- Multimedia health resource created by and for Native American youth and young adults
- Resources to build mental resilience, address mental health challenges, and access mental health services
- Text-messaging service to promote mental health and well being
Youth Aware of Mental Health Program
- School-based program that uses dialogue and role-play to address the risk and protective factors associated with suicide
Zero Suicide
- Quality improvement model for health system suicide prevention initiatives
Zero Suicide in Indian Country
- Toolkit from Zero Suicide to guide the implementation of Zero Suicide in Indian Country
- Includes forms, tools, and videos others have used in their own implementation
50 Free Anti-Racism and Mental Health Resources
- Compendium of mental health resources for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities
- Supported by the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University
Additional Information
- View a one-page summary of “Youth Suicide Prevention: Strategies for Community and School Settings”.
- Download a PDF version of “Youth Suicide Prevention: Strategies for Community and School Settings."
Last Updated
03/01/2023
Source
American Academy of Pediatrics