Back-to-School: Crucial Resources for Suicide Prevention and Mental Health

By: Erica Stokes

With the school year underway, it’s a crucial time to focus on supporting students’ mental health and preventing suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) offers a variety of resources designed to help schools, parents, and communities address these important issues.

K-12 School Suicide Prevention: Suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 19, making it a significant public health concern. AFSP’s K-12 School Suicide Prevention program provides evidence-based strategies and policy recommendations to help schools prevent suicide. To explore our findings and policy recommendations, visit our “K-12 School Suicide Prevention” webpage.

It’s Real: This program targets middle school, high school, and college students, raising awareness about the mental health challenges they face and offering practical tools to help them manage these issues.

More Than Sad: Aimed at parents, teachers, and other school personnel, these educational programs have equipped over a million adults with the knowledge to recognize and respond to the warning signs of suicide.

Seize the Awkward: This national campaign encourages young adults to reach out to friends who might be struggling with mental health issues. The campaign provides straightforward advice on recognizing mental health struggles and initiating conversations to offer support.

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools: This toolkit offers schools practical guidance on how to respond to a student suicide, providing essential support to the school community during such difficult times.

Supporting youth mental health is a collective effort, and these resources can make a difference. To access more information and share these resources with your community, visit our “Suicide Prevention Resources for Back-to-School Season”.

APA Citation:

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (2024). Suicide prevention resources for back-to-school season. https://www.afsp.org/suicide-prevention-resources-for-back-to-school-season

Sefcik, W. (2024). A mother’s perspective: The need for mental health and suicide prevention education in schools. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. https://www.afsp.org/a-mothers-perspective-the-need-for-mental-health-and-suicide-prevention-education-in-schools