The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded funding to South Dakota from the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act for youth suicide prevention—with $400,000 expected annually for three years. During the first two years of implementation, programs are slated for start-up in 25 high schools and two colleges. The Division of Mental Health is administering the statewide project—called the Suicide Awareness Partnership. It is managed by the HELP!Line Center of Sioux Falls. The project supervisors are Janet Kittams-Lalley of Avera McKennan Behavioral Health Services in Sioux Falls and Franklin Cook of Unified Community Solutions in Rapid City. The Suicide Awareness Partnership project was developed in conjunction with the ongoing work of the South Dakota Strategy for Suicide Prevention, which began in 2002.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Lifelines: A school-based suicide prevention curriculum comprised of four 45-minute lessons targeting youth ages 12-17. Instruction is on information and attitudes about suicide, help-seeking, and school resources; warning signs of suicide and role-playing exercises emphasizing seeking adult help for a peer who might be at risk; and appropriate and inappropriate responses to a suicidal peer. The program covers school-based model policies and procedures for responding to at-risk youth, suicide attempts, and completions; presentations for educators and parents; and a teacher training workshop.
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST): A two-day intensive workshop from LivingWorks for caregivers at all levels serving at-risk groups, designed to improve early recognition and intervention skills to increase the number of youth at risk for suicide identified and then referred to treatment.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL), 1-800-273-TALK: Calls to the toll-free crisis line are answered throughout S.D. by trained crisis workers at the HELP!Line Center.
SDSSP Website: Launched in May 2006, this is an up-to-date, comprehensive resource, linking schools and communities to tools reflecting best practices in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
National Center for Suicide Prevention Training (NCSPT): Online Introduction to Youth Gatekeeper Training: A free, web-based course on gatekeeper training and its place in comprehensive suicide prevention strategies. It covers suicide terms, myths, risk and protective factors, and warning signs.
Public Awareness Campaign: A campaign utilizing print, broadcast, and other media that promotes several project initiatives, including ASIST, NCSPT's online introduction to youth gatekeeper training, 1-800-273-TALK, and the SDSSP website.
School-Community Caregiver Linkages: This key component of the project strengthens the referral and follow-up linkages among the schools and community-based mental health and substance abuse services.
Crisis Postvention Planning: Project staff collaborate with the school administration in pilot sites to improve or create a crisis postvention plan for suicides and nonfatal attempts.
Colleges: Programs at the college sites are complemented by the AFSP film The Truth about Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College.
Communities: In communities where the project is being implemented, the LivingWorks suicide alertness training called safeTALK, designed to improve effective risk recognition and referral, is being offered to complement ASIST training.
Cultural Awareness: Project staff are partnering with Wakanyeja Pawicayapi (The Children First), Porcupine, and Sinte Gleska University, to ensure that effective, meaningful cultural awareness is integral to all program implementation.
