YOUTH SUICIDE AWARENESS & PREVENTION FOR CAREGIVERS

1. YOUTH SUICIDE AWARENESS & PREVENTION FOR CAREGIVERS ABC Unified School District Tina Porter, LCSW, PPSC District Social Worker Foster & Homeless Youth Liaison Jose Campos, ACSW School Social Worker Tetzlaff Middle School

2. ROLE OF CAREGIVERS IN YOUTH SUICIDE AWARENESS & PREVENTION • Talk with your child about suicide • Listen without judgement; try to be understanding • Know the risk factors and warning signs • Encourage child to seek help from trusted adult if needed • Remove access to lethal means

3. YOUTH SUICIDE IN THE MEDIA

4. CHILD & ADOLESCENT SUICIDE IN THE UNITED STATES • 2ndleading cause of death of ages 10-24 • 100-200 attempts for 1 death by suicide • Females are 3x more likely to attempt than males • Males die of suicide 4x than females • LGBTQ+ youth attempt suicide 5x rate of peers • 2 in one million children 50 in one million adolescents Total Suicides 44,193 Age 20-24 3,430 Age 15-19 2,061 National Suicide Statistics (2015) Age 10-14 409

5. YOUTH RISK & BEHAVIOR SURVEY (2015) CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION Survey of 14,000 teens in the last 12 months: • 17.7% seriously considered attempting suicide • 14.6% made a plan for suicide • 8.6% attempted suicide 1+ times • 2.8% attempted suicide that required medical intervention

6. ABC UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT CALIFORNIA HEALTHY KIDS SURVEY (CHKS) 2017 “During the past 12 months, did you ever seriously consider attempting suicide?” 30% 25% 25% 22% 21% 21% 19% 19% 20% 18% 16% 16% 16% 14% 15% Grade 9 Grade 11 10% 5% 0% ABC Unified School District Artesia High School Cerritos High School Gahr High School Whitney High School Tracy High School

7. RISK FACTORS • Access to lethal means • Bullying • Child abuse or neglect • Family history of suicide • Family instability • Health problems or disabilities (chronic conditions, new/worsening symptoms) • Interpersonal relationship difficulties (family, friends, romantic partners) • Mental health disorder • Previous suicide attempts • Problems in school (academic or discipline) • Self-harm or self-injury • Significant stressful event • Suicide of family member, friend, or peer

8. PROTECTIVE & PREVENTIVE FACTORS • Access to mental health care • Connectedness to family, friends, schools, and communities • Cultural, religious, or personal beliefs • “Life Skills” such as problem solving and coping • Positive peer and social relationships • Resilience • Sense of purpose or meaning in life • Willingness to seek adult help when needed

9. • Access to lethal means • Suicide notes, plans, or threats • “Making arrangements,” saying goodbye to loved ones, giving away prized possessions • Previous suicide attempts • Risk-taking (jumping from high places, running in front of cars) • Self-harm or self-injury (scratching, cutting, burning, erasing, marking the body) • Severe physical cruelty towards people or animals • Thinking, talking, drawing, or posting to social media about suicide • Sudden dramatic improvement in mood after a period of depression HIGH RISK SIGNS

10. WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOUR CHILD MIGHT BE SUICIDAL • Talk to your child and ask questions to learn more • Remove access to lethal means • Do not leave child unattended • In emergency, call 911 or go to the ER • Contact your child’s doctor • Reach out for help: • 1-800-854-7771 (LA Dept. Mental Health 24/7) • 1-800-253-TALK (8255) (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) • Consult with a mental health professional • Schools can help with referrals and resources

11. SUICIDE CONTAGION • Also called “suicide clusters” or “copycat suicide” • Increased risk of suicidal behavior after exposure to suicide in home, school, community, or in the media • Approximately 5% of youth suicides are influenced by contagion • Following 13 Reasons Why there was a 20% increase of Google searches related to teen suicide • Rancho Cucamonga: 3 students died of suicide between August 6-August 16, 2018

12. SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES • School Counselors, School Psychologists, School Social Workers & Mental Health Professionals available on every K-12 campus • Community Resource Team (CRT): collection of partner agencies that ABC refers and collaborates with • CRT agencies able to provide individual, group, and family therapy to students at school and in homes

13. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID • Free 8-hour training offered by ABC Unified School District (Friday, April 5, 2019) • Designed for parents, teachers, school staff, and individuals who interact with youth • Teach participants how to support youth (12-18) with mental health condition or in crisis • Teaches adolescent development, common mental health challenges for teens, and 5-step action plan to support youth in crisis and non-crisis situations

14. RESOURCES & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Emergency: 911 American Association of Suicidology: https://suicideology.org American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org Children's Safety Network: https://childrenssafetynetwork.org The Jason Foundation: https://jasonfoundation.com The JED Foundation: https://jedfoundation.org Know The Signs: https://suicideispreventable.org LA County Dept. of Mental Health 24/7: 1-800-854-777 https://.dmh.lacounty.gov National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention: https://actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-310-889-7200 https://.nami.org National Institute of Mental Health: https://nimh.nih.gov National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 https://.suicidepreventionlifeline.org Text "Start" to 741-741 National Suicide Prevention (Spanish): 1-888-628-9454 SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education): www.save.org Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration https://.samhsa.org Suicide Prevention Resource Center: https://sprc.org TEEN-LINE (6PM-10PM): 1-800-852-8336 Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ youth): 1-866-488-7386 https://thetrevorproject.org

15. CONTACT INFORMATION ABC Unified School District Safe Schools (562)926-5566 Ext. 21154