SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy has dubbed September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and will use the time to focus on ongoing prevention efforts.

A new concept will be explored each week, including “building resilience, navigating stress, encouraging bystander intervention to A-C-T (Ask, Care, Treat) and reducing barriers for seeking support through counseling,” a Navy statement said Tuesday.

“Our people are our greatest asset,” Capt. Kurt Scott, Behavioral Health Programs director, Bureau of Naval Personnel, said in the statement. “We’re promoting a lifestyle of total fitness - physically, mentally, socially and spiritually — to ensure our sailors are best able to meet the challenges they will face in today’s Navy.

“These efforts reinforce the secretary of the Navy’s 21st Century Sailor and Marine initiative, as well as support the chief of naval operation’s directions. Most importantly, focusing on total fitness puts us on a path to prevent suicides.”

The Navy will announce the winner of the Suicide Prevention Public Service Announcement video contest Sept. 28, the statement said. The winning video will air on Direct-to-Sailor television, the American Forces Network and Pentagon Channel.

Online tools can be found at www.suicide.navy.mil and www.navynavstress.com.

From staff reports

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