The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) hosted an important breakout session last week at our 2010 Suicide Prevention Conference called “Suicide Prevention: A National Resource for a National Imperative.”
The session was one of over twenty conference breakout sessions on topics ranging from “Safety Planning in Care of Suicidal Veterans,” to “Training in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide” to “The Role of Law Enforcement in Preventing Suicide.” We’ll be posting all presentations online, so please stay tuned. It is likely you’ll find a presentation useful for your perspective.
Founded in 2002, the SPRC is the only federally funded suicide prevention resource center. Born out of a need to move suicide into the public health arena, SPRC approaches suicide as a preventable public health problem and looks to create a national dialogue in which suicide is viewed as a pivotal issue that needs to be taken seriously because it afflicts all demographics.
Important suicide facts include:
- Every 17 minutes another life is lost to suicide
- For every two victims of homicide in the U.S. there are three deaths from suicide
- Suicide takes the lives of more than 30,00 Americans ever year
- Between 1952 and 1995, the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled
SPRC works to provide prevention support, training and informational resources geared for multiple audiences including:
- The general public
- Health and human service professionals
- Community leaders
- Researchers
- Survivors
- Advocates
- Policymakers
Supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, SPRC develops programs, interventions and policies to prevent suicide at the national, tribal, state, territorial, campus and community levels.
Pivotal resources the SPRC website offers include:
- Prevention support
- Best practices for suicide prevention programs and practices
- Training institute
- Online library
- Tool-kits
- Research information
- Free e-newsletter, The Spark
Employing a national strategy, the SPRC works to bring groups and individuals together to work side by side in the ongoing battle to prevent suicide.