PREVENTING THE PREVENTABLE
Coalition Taking Public Health Approach To High Number Of Cape Suicides
Volume 18, No. 1, Winter 2010
By Beth Albert
The mission of the Cape and Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition is to develop strategies to “increase suicide awareness and prevention.” And at the same time to promote and coordinate education and training to increase the capacity of the community to respond this issue.
The Coalition began in early 2009 with a small capacity building grant from the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention. To date, our efforts have received tremendous support. Coalition Membership is currently comprised of 75 elected officials, state and county governments, community health centers, survivors of suicide, related non-profit organizations and other interested parties.
In only our first year, the Coalition has developed a strategic plan and implemented a governance structure to provide leadership. We have begun to develop a public education campaign and offer training in the community from national experts.
One particularly successful initiative is called “gatekeeper” training. In this model, we create a structure that brings the community together as “gatekeepers” to promote prevention and respond to attempts or completions of suicide. A “gatekeeper” is any member of the community who is trained to identify the signs of suicide and also how to respond to those who may be suicidal.
Raising awareness of the myths around suicide, how to identify the signs of suicide, and how to respond are critical components in preventing suicide.
Studies have shown that suicide is preventable. The need to raise awareness of the problem, reduce the risk factors associated with suicide and increase protective factors is critical. Recent suicides in the region have drawn further attention to this issue and the formation and success of the Cape and Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition is an essential component in a community wide effort to prevent suicides.
“Awareness, Education, Action.” That is our mantra. Cape Cod and the Islands have a problem that requires a region-wide public health approach. With the help of the people in our community we can raise awareness, educate people, and take action to reduce the number of suicides.
If you, or someone you know is in crisis, call 1-800-322-1356, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information about the Cape and Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition or to get involved, call 508-375-6626.
Based upon recent statistics from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the suicide rate in our region is 1.5 times the state average. There is one homicide for every six suicides. These are shocking statistics that are not commonly known as the problem of suicide has remained grossly underreported for years.
While the reasons for our high rates are variable and complex, we know that the majority of people who attempt and/or complete suicide suffer from some form of mental illness.
We also know that addiction, a recent loss, feelings of isolation and loneliness, lack of timely access to treatment, and proximity to lethal means all increase the likelihood of someone taking his or her own life. This is true across the age continuum from youth to seniors.
Dismayed by several youth suicides in our local communities last year, the Regional Office of the Department of Mental Health in September recognized the need to respond to suicides and other crises in a coordinated manner by forming the Cape Cod Post Traumatic Stress Management (PTSM) team.
The goal of PTSM is to respond to traumatic incidents and large-scale disasters with evidence-based public health/mental health intervention protocols designed to recognize and adapt to ethnic, cultural, gender and developmental differences. A majority of survivors are stabilized and/or referred appropriately within the first 72 hours of the episode.
Officially, PTSM is a post-event endeavor. Following a completed suicide, they check with survivors such as family and the circle of friends. They offer the team’s assistance and proceed only if invited to do so. However, individual clinicians often may render background assistance.
The prevention role comes through contacts with the circle of survivors to minimize the possibility of future copy-cat or cluster events.
(Ms. Albert is Director of Barnstable County Human Services and Vice Chair of the Cape and Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition.)
By Maura Weir
The Cape and Islands top many lists for Massachusetts’ most attractive destinations, but our rank as the region with one of the two highest youth suicide rates in the Commonwealth is a growing concern. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s most recent figures, the Cape and Islands region has 1.5 times higher rate for suicide for youth ages 10-24 as compared to the rest of the State.
Recognizing this as a community problem, the Cape and Islands Community Health Network and Community Health Center of Cape Cod (CHCCC) have created the Cape & Islands Youth Suicide Prevention Project.
The project is being funded by a $300,000 Garrett Lee Smith Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. It is payable over three years and we are now in the second year.
The aim of the project is to improve the community’s ability to identify at-risk youth and intervene quickly.
Each Youth Suicide Prevention Project must engage at least one university or community college to participate in the project assessment, planning and intervention activities. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne is our partner in this regard. CHCCC is the lead agency.
Through an assessment conducted between July and December, the Youth Suicide Prevention Project has identified priority populations and we’re now developing a plan to target prevention and post-event activities with the priority populations that include:
The project also has worked on identifying existing resources for prevention, assessment, crisis intervention and treatment as well as obstacles young adults may face in obtaining help.
The eventual goal is to create a plan that considers varied prevention strategies to reduce our rate of youth suicide. It’s also important to be able to measure the effectiveness of these strategies and to identify additional sources of financial or in-kind support to implement and sustain the programs.
In years two and three of the project we hope to develop and implement interventions that:
Last year the project organized a very successful National Survivor’s of Suicide Day in Hyannis in conjunction with the Cape and Islands Samaritans and the Massachusetts Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for Survivors of Suicide. The project is working with the Samaritans to help support their Safe Place Support Program for those bereaved by suicide.
(Ms. Weir is the Community Health Center of Cape Cod’s Project Manager to administer Youth Suicide Prevention Project grant. She holds a Master’s in Youth Health and Education Management from the University of Melbourne, Australia.)
Need help, but it’s not a dire emergency demanding immediate police, fire or an ambulance response? Cape and Islands residents now have an expanded resource for seeking social assistance through a new number to call: 2-1-1.
This 2-1-1 system—a major initiative of the United Way collaborating with state and regional government agencies through local chapters—was started in 1997 in Atlanta. It came to Massachusetts a few years ago, but only recently has the effort here been upgraded. Since September, the number of listed agencies has doubled to a total of 400. And a major marketing program to inform the public of its availability will be unrolled this spring.
Statewide, United Way partners with MAIRS, the Massachusetts Alliance of Information & Referral System. Here the linkage is between the Cape and Islands United Way and Barnstable County’s Department of Human Services.
As the brochure explains, “2-1-1 is the direct link between people who need help and people who can give help…from food, clothing and shelter assistance to counseling, legal and financial services…with your very first call.”
The service is staffed 24-7 with multilingual and TTY service available.
The data base was developed with the assistance of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health & Human Services and has been designated as the Commonwealth’s primary telephone information call center during times of emergency.
Help also is available online at www.mass211help.org. If you’re calling from out of state or can’t get through to 2-1-1, dial 1-877-211-MASS (6277).
The new resource is expected to reduce the number of non-emergency calls to 9-1-1.
Agencies that wish to be listed by Mass 2-1-1, obtain training on the use of the service or would like to create their own resource directory from the master data base can do so online.