New Hampshire doing what needs to be done to prevent suicides

NH group updates suicide prevention plan

By Jillian Jorgensen
jjorgensen@eagletribune.com

A state group has revised its plan for suicide prevention, bringing together public agencies and private organizations in an effort to raise awareness and help prevent suicide in New Hampshire.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death, after accidental injury, among New Hampshire residents younger than 34. It is the fourth-leading cause of death in adults 34 to 55.

"You can have people sit in an office and write a great document, but if it's not carried out, it's not worth the ink that it's written in," said Elaine de Mello, supervisor of training and prevention at National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire and a member of the Suicide Prevention Council. "The revision shows that people are looking at it, and thinking about it."

This is the first revision to the plan since it was created in 2004. The plan updates were made by the state's Suicide Prevention Council, made up of representatives from state agencies and nonprofit groups, as well as politicians, medical professionals and others.

Funding for the council's initiatives come from grants and from the agencies that make up the council and follow the plan's guidelines for dealing with and preventing suicide.

The plan's goals include reaching out to agencies from corrections facilities to schools to help officials around the state be more prepared to deal with suicidal people or the aftermath of a suicide. Many of those organizations have representatives on the council.
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NH group updates suicide prevention plan