NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR ACTION ______________________________________________________________________________ 2001 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service Rockville, MD National Library of Medicine Cataloging in Publication National strategy for suicide prevention : Goals and objectives for action. Rockville, MD : U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 2001. Includes index. 1. Suicide - prevention & control - United States. 2. Health Planning - United States. I. United States. Public Health Service. 02NLM:HV 6548.A1 2001. Copies of this document are available from the Center for Mental Health Services' Knowledge Exchange Network by calling 1-800-789-2647, reference document number SMA 3517; and on the World Wide Web at www.mentalhealth.org/suicideprevention, or at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library CE-Credit.com -- Helping Professionals Help Others GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR ACTION 1 PREFACE FROM THE SURGEON GENERAL: Suicide exacts an enormous toll from the American people. Our Nation loses 30,000 lives to this tragedy each year, another 650,000 receive emergency care after attempting to take their own lives. The devastating trauma, loss, and suffering is multiplied in the lives of family members and friends. This document, National Strategy for Suicide Prevention – Goals and Objectives for Action, lays the foundation of our Nation's strategy to confront this serious public health problem. At this document's source are countless dedicated individuals repre- senting every facet of our Nation's communities. They include represen- tatives to a 1993 United Nations/World Health Organization Conference who played key roles in establishing guidelines for national suicide pre- vention strategies. They include the passionate grassroots activists whose work stimulated Congressional Resolutions declaring suicide prevention a national priority and calling for our own national strategy. They include dedicated public servants and private individuals who jointly organized and participated in the first National Suicide Prevention Conference in 1998 to consolidate a scientific base for this critical endeavor. These peo- ple and their efforts led directly to publication of the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide - 1999 with its most important rec- ommendation, the completion of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. After listening to the concerns of the American people, Government leaders helped bring stakeholders together in a shining example of pub- lic-private collaboration to achieve this major milestone in public health. Those who have invested their hearts and minds in this effort believe it effectively points the way for organizations and individuals to curtail the tragedy of suicide and suicidal behavior. Though it does not specify all the details, it provides essential guidance and suggests the fundamental activities that must follow–activities based on the best available science. Nearly half of the States are engaged in suicide prevention and many have already committed significant resources to implement programs. Their leadership in evaluating the effectiveness of these programs will NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION CE-Credit.com -- Helping Professionals Help Others 2 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR ACTION PREFACE help guide the efforts of States that follow in their paths. Most of these plans recognize that much of the work of suicide prevention must occur at the community level, where human relationships breathe life into pub- lic policy. American communities are also home to scores of faith-based and secular initiatives that help reduce risk factors and promote protec- tive factors associated with many of our most pressing social problems, including suicide. As you read further, keep in mind that the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention is not the Surgeon General's strategy or the Federal government's strategy; rather, it is the strategy of the American people for improving their health and well-being through the prevention of sui- cide. I congratulate each person who played a role in bringing it to com- pletion. You have served your fellow Americans well. Sincerely yours, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. Surgeon General NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION CE-Credit.com -- Helping Professionals Help Others GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR ACTION 3 FROM THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION Dear Surgeon General Satcher: The members of the National Council for Suicide Prevention are writ- ing to express strong support for this landmark document -- the first ever National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (National Strategy). We are particularly grateful to you for bringing needed attention to the problem of suicide in our country, and for your role in the public/pri- vate effort that has led to the National Strategy. Further, we applaud the fact that this strategy has been created from the expertise and expe- rience of mental health clinicians, research scientists, suicide survivors, persons who have attempted suicide, prevention advocates and other concerned individuals. The enormous amount of time and effort that went into the develop- ment of the National Strategy is reflected in its clarity of purpose and its comprehensiveness. From our perspective, the goals and objectives, as articulated and well documented in the strategy, provide a focus for the suicide prevention work of all groups at national, State and local levels. With this broad agreement on what must be done to prevent suicide, we now face a new challenge, which is how to achieve, to the fullest extent possible, the goals and objectives presented in the strategy and to ensure that it reaches all Americans. As a council of national not-for-profit organizations whose primary focus is the prevention of suicide, we are dedicated to working with each other and with our colleagues in government and the private sector to do what we can to ensure the timely implementation of the National Strategy. Together, we can and will do more to prevent loss of life from suicide. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION CE-Credit.com -- Helping Professionals Help Others 4 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR ACTION FROM THE NCSP Respectfully submitted, Alan L. Berman, Ph.D. American Association of Suicidology Clark Flatt The Jason Foundation Iris Bolton The Link Counseling Center's National Resource Center for Suicide Prevention and Aftercare James Clemons Organization for Attempters and Survivors of Suicide in Interfaith Services Jackie Casey Suicide Awareness\Voices of Education Robert Gebbia American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Reese Butler Kristin Brooks Hope Center Donna Holland Barnes National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide Mary Jean Coleman Samaritans, Inc. Jerry Weyrauch Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network Dale Emme Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION CE-Credit.com -- Helping Professionals Help Others GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR ACTION 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This document was prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services under the direction of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, and the Office of the Surgeon General; and through the partnership and collaboration of stakeholders in the public and private sectors. At the request of the Secretary, the Surgeon General provided essential leadership to coordi- nate the related efforts of the following agencies: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; The National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health; the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau; the Indian Health Service and the Public Health Service Regional Health Administrators. Public and private sector contributors are listed individually below. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY VADM David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., Surgeon General, Office of Public Health and Science, Washington, DC RADM Arthur Lawrence, Ph.D., R.Ph., Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Operations), Office of Public Health and Science, Washington, DC RADM Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Surgeon General, USPHS, Office of the Surgeon General, Washington, DC Nicole Lurie, M.D., M.S.P.H., (Former) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Public Health and Science, Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC Beverly Malone, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., (Former) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Public Health and Science NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION CE-Credit.com -- Helping Professionals Help Others 6 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR ACTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Damon Thompson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Health and Science, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Washington, DC SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Joseph H. Autry III, M.D., Acting Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, Maryland Bernard S. Arons, M.D., Director, Center for Mental Health Services, Rockville, Maryland RADM Brian Flynn, Ed.D., Assistant Surgeon General, Director, Division of Program Development, Special Populations and Projects, Center for Mental Health Services, Rockville, Maryland CAPT Norma J. Hatot, Senior Nurse Consultant, Center for Mental