SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Initiatives

Below is more information about SAMHSA’s suicide prevention initiatives.

Funding and Grant Programs

SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Branch funds discretionary grant programs focused on suicide prevention, early intervention, crisis support, treatment, recovery, and postvention for youth and adults, including:

Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team Partnerships

Mobile Crisis Teams (MCTs) serving children, youth, and adults. The purpose of this program is to establish or enhance Mobile Crisis Teams to respond to mental health or substance use disorder crises. With this program, SAMHSA aims to divert individuals in crisis from criminal justice involvement and hospital emergency departments, to reduce deaths from suicide and overdose, and to address the specific needs of the communities to be served (such as children and families, veterans, rural populations, and individuals with limited access to crisis services).

The MCTP (formerly known as CCRP) grant has allowed our agency to expand our mobile crisis services to a 24/7/365 program, setting us apart as the first in our state to offer around the clock mobile response. This has greatly reduced the instances of unnecessary involvement with Law Enforcement and EMS, expediting the appropriate mental health service, directly to the client.

CCRP Grantee

Body 2

Garrett Lee Smith Campus

Suicide prevention initiatives for students on college campuses. This program supports a comprehensive, evidence-based public health approach that: (1) enhances mental health services for students, including those at risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness / serious emotional disturbances, and/or substance use disorders (SUDs) that can lead to school failure; (2) prevents and reduces suicide, mental illness, and SUDs; (3) promotes help-seeking behavior; and (4) improves the identification and treatment of at-risk students so they can successfully complete their studies.

This marks 3 years of enhanced mental health and wellbeing support for students. We’ve learned that high usage of after-hour support for students through our program lowers the barriers that may otherwise prevent students from seeking help.

GLS Campus Grantee

Body

Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention Program

Community-based suicide prevention for youth and young adults up to age 24. This program supports states and tribes with implementing youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies in educational settings, juvenile justice and foster care systems, substance use and mental health programs, and other organizations to: (1) increase the number of organizations that can identify and work with youth at risk of suicide; (2) increase the capacity of clinical service providers to assess, manage, and treat youth at risk of suicide; and (3) improve the continuity of care and follow-up of at-risk youth.

It has been wonderful work made possible through the SAMHSA grant and we are thrilled each chance we get to share these programs with others to help support other grants and especially our youth.

Garett Lee Smith State/Tribal Grantee

body 3

Native Connections/Tribal Behavioral Health: Suicide Prevention

Community-based suicide prevention for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth through age 24. The purpose of this program is to prevent suicide and substance misuse, reduce the impact of trauma, and promote mental health among AI/AN youth. It aims to reduce the impact of mental health and substance use disorders, foster culturally responsive models that reduce and respond to the impact of trauma in AI/AN communities, and allow AI/AN communities to facilitate collaboration among agencies to support youth through the development and implementation of an array of integrated services and supports with the involvement of AI/AN community members in all grant activities.

Adult Suicide Prevention

The Adult Suicide Prevention (ASP) program supports community-led suicide prevention for adults at risk for suicide. The purpose of this program is to build and strengthen community infrastructure and readiness for early intervention, suicide prevention, and resiliency efforts. With this program, SAMHSA aims to reduce suicide and suicide attempts by helping communities develop coordinated, upstream approaches that strengthen partnerships and non-clinical community supports, promote lethal means safety, and connect adults at risk with evidence-based care and support before, during, and after a crisis.

The Adult Suicide Prevention (formerly known as NSSP) grant has not only allowed us to sustain our efforts to prevent suicide by expanding our capacity to engage in lethal means safety, connectedness, economic stability, education, and follow-up efforts across the state, but also given local partners resources to implement innovative strategies for suicide prevention.

NSSP Grantee

SPRC

Suicide Prevention Resource Center

Funded by SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Branch, SPRC is a national resource center devoted to advancing the implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. SPRC advances suicide prevention infrastructure and capacity building through technical assistance, training, and resources to states, Native settings, colleges and universities, health systems, and other organizations involved in suicide prevention. Visit SPRC to learn more about suicide and a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention; access a searchable online library, Best Practices Registry, and set of online trainings and webinars; request technical assistance with your suicide prevention efforts; or sign up for SPRC’s weekly newsletter.

Zero Suicide

Zero Suicide

Suicide prevention framework to implement within Health and Behavioral Health Care Systems for adults 18 and older. The purpose of this program is to implement the Zero Suicide intervention and prevention model—a comprehensive, multi-setting suicide prevention approach—for adults throughout a health system or systems. Recipients are expected to implement all seven elements of the Zero Suicide framework—Lead, Train, Identify, Engage, Treat, Transition, and Improve—to reduce suicide ideation, attempts, and deaths.

Emphasis of Zero Suicide has created an environment where more and more individuals are talking openly about suicide, and it is helping to shatter stigma that surrounds suicide.

Zero Suicide Grantee

Body

SAMHSA's Black Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative

SAMHSA’s Black Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative, created by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), addresses the growing rate of suicide deaths among Black youth and young adults. Utilizing mechanisms within and external to SAMHSA, the goal of the Black Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative is to reduce the suicidal thoughts, attempts, and deaths of Black youth and young adults between the ages of 5-24 across the country.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a free, confidential 24/7 phone line that connects individuals in crisis with trained counselors across the United States.

You don’t have to be suicidal or in crisis to call the Lifeline. People call to talk about coping with lots of things: substance use, economic worries, relationships, illness, abuse, mental and physical illness, and loneliness. Here’s more about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:

• You are not alone in reaching out. In 2021, the Lifeline received 3.6 million calls, chats, and texts.
• The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a network of more than 200 state and local call centers supported by HHS through SAMHSA.
• Calls to the Lifeline are routed to the nearest crisis center for connections to local resources for help.
• Responders are trained counselors who have successfully helped to prevent suicide ideation and attempts among callers.
• Learn what happens when you call the Lifeline network.
• Frequently asked questions about the Lifeline.

Suicide-Related Survey Data

Data collected via SAMHSA’s National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provide estimates of substance use and mental illness at the national, state, and substate levels; help identify the extent of these issues among different subgroups; estimate trends over time; determine the need for treatment services; and help inform planning and early intervention programs and services. NSDUH also collects data about the prevalence of suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts among adolescents aged 12-17 and adults aged 18 or older, described in the NSDUH national releases.

Related Pages

About Suicide

Suicide Prevention

Warning Signs

Suicide and Suicide Prevention Resources

SAMHSA’s Black Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain; material credited to others is left out.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.