Suicide Prevention Month Special Edition

Virginia Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/09/2020 06:19 PM EDT

Suicide Prevention Month Special Edition

September 2020

While suicide prevention is important to address year round, September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Suicide is a national health problem that currently ranks as the second leading cause of death for ages 10 – 24. Suicide is also one of the leading causes of preventable death in our nation. Dedicating time to come together with a collective passion and strength around this difficult topic can save lives. We hope this newsletter provides school leaders with resources to raise awareness and increase prevention efforts in the school setting.

We challenge our school colleagues to dedicate time in September to build your own suicide awareness and to increase your efforts in spreading the message of prevention. We have created several webinars to build awareness and strengthen practices to support state and local policies and procedures.

In this special edition you will find:

Suicide Prevention Webinars

VDOE’S Guidelines for Suicide Prevention

Suicide Prevention Resource Library

SUICIDE PREVENTION WEBINARS

Training for Suicide Risk Assessment Teams or School-Based Mental Health Providers

Brought to you by the Office of Student Services, VDOE

Part 1: Prevention

Part 2: Intervention

Part 3: Postvention

Related Resources:

Presentation Slides

Addressing Suicidal Concerns in a Virtual Setting: A Guide for School Staff

Suicide Prevention in the Virtual Setting

Presented by: Ben Fernandez, Loudoun County Public Schools

Part 1: Prevention

Part 2: Intervention

Related Resources:

Suicide Prevention Resources and Discussion Guide

Suicide Intervention Resources and Discussion Guide

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention During COVID-10 for Parents, Caregivers and Teachers

Brought to you by: Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety, and the VDOE.

Recording

Related Resource:

PowerPoint Slides

VDOE'S SUICIDE PREVENTION GUIDELINES

Schools are key settings for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. Most children and youth spend most of their day in school where caring and trained adults are available to help them. Teachers, mental health providers, and all other school personnel who interact with students can play an important role in keeping them safe (VDH, 2019). The recently released Suicide Prevention Guidelines for Virginia Public Schools 2020 discuss suicide prevention, intervention and postvention in the school setting.

SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCE LIBRARY

We have pulled together a list of resources to aid in your suicide prevention efforts.This one-stop-shop of resources is organized into four categories: Guidelines and Models, Prevention and Awareness, Resources for Students, Resources for Caregivers and Staff, and Helpful Infographics and Social Shareables.

Suicide Prevention Padlet

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