SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES

Preventing Suicide:  A Toolkit for High Schools

This toolkit was developed in 2012 by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help high schools, school districts, and their partners design and implement strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health among their students. The information and tools in this toolkit will help schools and their partners:

• Assess their ability to prevent suicide among students and respond to suicides that may occur

• Understand strategies that can help students who are at risk for suicide

• Understand how to respond to the suicide of a student or other member of the school community

• Identify suicide prevention programs and activities that are effective for individual schools and respond to the needs and cultures of each school’s students

• Integrate suicide prevention into activities that fulfill other aspects of the school’s mission, such as preventing the abuse of alcohol and other drugs

After a Suicide:  A Toolkit for Schools

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools assists schools in implementing a coordinated response to the suicide death of a student. Originally developed in 2011, the second edition includes new information and tools that middle and high schools can use to help the school community cope and reduce suicide risk. The toolkit was developed in collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and in consultation with national experts, including school-based administrators and staff, clinicians, researchers, and crisis response professionals. It is designed primarily for administrators and staff but can also be useful for parents and communities.  Highlights of the second edition include:

• Updated information on such topics as memorialization, social media, and contagion

• Updated resource lists

• A new tool to help with decision-making about memorials

• New examples of how different communities have addressed specific issues in responding to a suicide death