Welcome to the Suicide Prevention section of GSPIN. Prevention's Home Page hosts background, basics, and knowledge of what is going on in Georgia, and how you can help!
Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities. While its causes are complex and determined by multiple factors, the goal of suicide prevention is simple: Reduce factors that increase risk (i.e. risk factors) and increase factors that promote resilience (i.e. protective factors). Ideally, prevention addresses all levels of influence: individual, relationship, community, and societal. Effective prevention strategies are needed to promote awareness of suicide and encourage a commitment to social change.
Georgia's Suicide Prevention Program resides in DBHDD (Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabiities) OBHP (Office of Behavioral Health Prevention).
Strategizing for Suicide Prevention
- National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (Department of Health and Human Services)
This revised national strategy emphasizes the role every American can play in protecting their friends, family members, and colleagues from suicide. It also provides guidance for schools, businesses, health systems, clinicians and many other sectors that takes into account nearly a decade of research and other advancements in the field since the last strategy was published. - Strategic Direction for the Prevention of Suicidal Behavior: Promoting Individual, Family, and Community Connectedness to Prevent Suicidal Behavior
[PDF 507-KB]
This document describes a five-year vision for the CDC’s work to prevent fatal and nonfatal suicidal behavior. Our key strategy is promoting individual, family, and community connectedness.
SECOND OPINION - A PBS Special offers a unique look into the subject of suicide.
This PBS medical series explores illnesses one at a time and features a panel of physicians and other experts assessing individual cases. While youth suicides earn more news headlines, suicide rates in the United States actually increase with age. This powerful episode explores the devastating reality of suicide, and what you should know about helping yourself, or a loved one.