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 Suicide

This page was updated
on 06/27/13. If you know of errors please click
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Sexual
minority teens and all teens who get
harassed because someone thinks they are gay are at increased risk of
self-harm. They are at least twice as likely as their peers to seriously
consider suicide, to make specific suicide plans, to attempt suicide and to
say they have made at least one attempt in the past year that required
treatment by a health care professional.  And suicide prevention efforts have rarely spoken to the issue of
harassment at all, no less anti-gay harassment. We haven’t begun to teach
children or teens how to recover their dignity when they are bullied or
attacked in this way or where to reach out for support. It is time we changed
that.

The
Trevor Helpline –
this
national 24-hour free and confidential toll-free suicide prevention hotline
is specifically aimed at gay or questioning youth, geared toward helping
those in crisis or anyone wanting information on how to help someone in
crisis. All calls are handled by trained counselors
who are familiar with gay and questioning youth,
and are . Phone:
1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386).
http://www.thetrevorproject.org

„I’m Glad I Failed“ –
The Trevor
Project, in conjunction with
National Suicide Prevention Week
(September 7-13), will launch a
powerful new ad campaign „I’m Glad I Failed.“ This effort targets LGBTQ
teens who contemplate suicide as a result of homophobia. The ads feature
four young people with stories about how intolerance and harassment led them
to attempt suicide, and how glad they are that those attempts failed because
their lives have changed for the better. The Trevor Project needs your help
to maximize exposure of their ads – here are examples of the ads which are on
their site with more variations and information:

   

Suicidal Signs – from
The Trevor
Project, some of the warning signs.
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/suicidal_signs.aspx

Don’t Erase Your Queer Future
– from The
Trevor Project for LGBTQ youth about suicide.
http://www.donteraseyourqueerfuture.org/

Heartbroken by recent suicides of OUR kids, Nhojj wrote this because he wanted to do something to help. It is a song of consolation and hope. Robert Allan Arno, Soul of the Voice, Ltd., calls „Things Will Get Better“ the „ultimate, empowering lullaby of the tender heart.“   This is Nhojj’s offering to all those kids who are on the verge of losing life’s most precious asset — hope.  It is for them.   „I wrote this song because I’d been hearing about our kids loosing hope, and at first I didn’t know what to do. But thankfully I came across the It Gets Better campaign. Dan & Terry have this amazing idea to share our stories to help teens realize that it does get better. This is my story told the best way I know how — through music. Love & Light Nhojj“ Things Will Get Better by Nhojj ~ Lyrics: http://nhojj.bandcamp.com/track/things-will-get-better

 

After a Suicide: A
Toolkit for Schools – Faced
with students struggling to cope and a community struggling to respond,
schools need reliable information, practical tools, and pragmatic guidance
on what to do in the aftermath of a suicide. This toolkit for middle and
high schools was developed by the
American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention and the
Suicide Prevention
Resource Center (a project of Education Development Center, Inc.). It
was created in consultation with national experts, resulting in a highly
practical resource for schools facing real-time crises. The toolkit includes
general guidelines for action, templates, and sample materials, and covers
topics such as crisis response, helping students cope, working with the
community, memorialization, social media, and bringing in outside help.
http://www.sprc.org/AfteraSuicideforSchools.asp

Befrienders
International
– not specific to LGBTQ people, this site contains details of local suicide
support services in over 40 countries and is translated into seven
languages.

http://www.befrienders.org/   

Bill’s Story – portrait of a son’s suicide by Safe Schools
Coalition’s webspinner, Gabi Clayton. Bill committed suicide when he was
seventeen years old in 1995, a month after he was assaulted in a hate crime
based on his sexual orientation.
http://www.youth-guard.org/gabi/Bills_Story.html

 

 

Listen to:
„Intro
to Gabi’s Song“ 

(1:32)
and „Will It Always Be Like This“ 


(4:30)


by
Steve Schalchlin – on Beyond The Light (2002)

http://www.bonusround.com/

This is also posted on our Music
on the Safe Schools Coalition Website resource page.

---

Darkness Calls
– this comic book, inspired, written
and illustrated by Steve Sanderson, a professional Aboriginal (native
Canadian) youth cartoonist, is a great
resource on suicide prevention for youth, visual learners and hard to reach
populations.  It’s the story of a teenager that feels socially isolated and
has difficulty at school.  Even though Kyle has tremendous artistic talent
and the support of a good friend he finds one day just too overwhelming and
considers taking his own life.  It’s the story of the struggle between good
and evil over the spirits of youth. The story was previewed with health
professionals and youth focus groups for authentic characters and
language. From the Healthy Aboriginal Network, 328 E 32nd Ave, Vancouver,
BC, Canada, V5V 2Y4; 604-876-0243. Website:

http://www.thehealthyaboriginal.net/

Depression
– this article Ashlee, a
YouthResource peer educator talks about when feeling sad or hopeless „is more than
just a temporary mood change“ and what to do about it. It offers other
youths‘ stories and poems and a ton of great toll-free hotlines and web
sites.
http://www.youthresource.com/health/lives/depression.htm

Face
The Issue
–
offers sobering, straightforward web animation with celebrity
narration regarding anorexia/bulimia, depression, alcohol/other drugs,
abuse, and self-esteem.
http://www.facetheissue.com/

GayData.org –
created by
Randall L. Sell, Sc.D.; Drexel University, School of
Public Health; Philadelphia, PA
for individuals and organizations who want to find information
about lesbians, gays and bisexuals grounded in scientific knowledge, who want to
find datasets to analyze that include sexual orientation data, and who want to
learn how to collect sexual orientation data.  It€™s also a clearinghouse of
sorts of research that is inclusive of GLB identity-with a section of mental
health that€™s inclusive of issues with suicide.
http://www.gaydata.org/

Responses to Suicide

GSA Network’s Make It Better Project ~ and ~ GroundSpark’s Stop Anti-LGBT Bullying Campaign

and

If you are
thinking of committing suicide… read this first
– by Martha Ainsworth, inspired by the work of David Conroy,
Ph.D.; on Metanoia,
working to break down barriers that keep people from getting the help they
need. Through communications, education and advocacy.

http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/

Marcus
Wayman Campaign
– Marcus Wayman was eighteen years old in 1997 when
he committed suicide after police found condoms in his pocket and concluded
he was gay.  Small town police (Minersville, PA) threatened to out him to
the community and family members.  Marcus, hours later, took a revolver and
shot himself in the head. In November 2001a jury in Allentown acquitted the
police from any wrongdoing. More information:

http://www.marcuswayman.org/

The Relationship
Between Youth Involvement in Bullying and Suicide


Edited by Marci F. Hertz

The Journal of Adolescent Health – Volume 53, Issue
1, Supplement, Pages A1-A10, S1-S54 (July 2013)


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/1054139X/53/1/supp/S

includes:

Inclusive Anti-bullying Policies and Reduced Risk
of Suicide Attempts in Lesbian and Gay Youth


Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, Ph.D.and Katherine M.
Keyes, Ph.D.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X12003540 and

pdf

Sexual Orientation and Youth Suicide
– by Gary Remafedi, MD, MPH, University of Minnesota Medical School,
Minneapolis, from the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 282,
pp. 1291-1292, October 6, 1999). Online
here.

Study:
Tolerance Can Lower Gay Kids‘ Suicide Risk. 

– NPR story about groundbreaking
research on the family dynamics, across several cultures, that contribute to gay
young people’s well-being. Go to:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98782569

Suicide among Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Youth
– a report by Heather E. Murphy.

http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/SuicideamongGLByouth.html Also available in
pdf format. 

Suicide Risk and Prevention for Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender Youth – Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
has released Suicide risk and prevention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender youth. Written by SPRC staff and reviewed by experts in sexual and
gender minority issues, suicide, and suicide prevention, and by youth, this
publication addresses the special concerns related to suicide prevention among
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. This paper paper outlines
recommendations for helping to reduce suicidal behavior among LGBT youth, and
includes a resource appendix and an extensive bibliography. This new paper may
be downloaded from the SPRC site at

http://www.sprc.org/library/SPRC_LGBT_Youth.pdf
(pdf format)

Suicide Prevention Week is in September. Read about it here: http://www.yspp.org/getInvolved/suicidePreventionWeek.htm

Supportive
Families, Healthy Children -The


Family Acceptance
Project (FAP) at SF State University, under the direction of Dr. Caitlin
Ryan, has been studying the impact of family acceptance and rejection on
suicide risk among LGBT youth. Published findings from these studies point
to the critical role of families in both contributing to and protecting
against suicidal behavior and risk among LGBT young people. FAP’s
multi-disciplinary team has been developing resources, interventions and
strategies to help diverse families reduce risk and to promote their LGBT
children’s well-being. The first of these resources – a multi-lingual,
multi-cultural series of family education booklets – Supportive Families,
Healthy Children: Helping Families Support their LGBT Children – have been
designated as the first “Best Practice” resources for suicide prevention for
LGBT youth and young adults by the national Best Practices Registry for
Suicide Prevention. They are available for download on the FAP website at:

http://familyproject.sfsu.edu/publications. Printed copies are available
for distribution from the Family Acceptance Project in orders of any size.
Lower literacy and faith-based versions are in development. FAP provides
on-site training on using these materials and FAP’s research-based
supportive family intervention model and other resources and tools. Contact
[email protected] to obtain printed versions
and for information on consultation and training.

Talking About Suicide & LGBT Populations: Guidelines & Protocols
– Safe public discussions about suicide can play a critical role in
increasing acceptance of LGBT people and supporting their well-being, while
minimizing the risk of a phenomenon known as suicide contagion. Talking
About Suicide & LGBT Populations provides detailed recommendations for more
safely discussing suicide in public conversations and social media, while at
the same time expanding public conversations about the well-being of LGBT
people, promoting the need for family support and acceptance, and
encouraging help-seeking by LGBT people who may be contemplating suicide.
http://www.lgbtmap.org/talking-about-suicide-and-lgbt-populations and

the report in a PDF file
(pdf format)  

TEACH Ministries (To Educate About the Consequences of Homophobia)
– Mary Lou and Bob Wallner lost their lesbian Christian daughter Anna to
suicide in February of 1997. They now work to see the church accept and
welcome GLBT people.
http://www.teach-ministries.org/

Youth Suicide Prevention Program
(YSPP)
– envisions Washington
as a state where youth suicide is a rare event, where young people are
nurtured and supported, where individuals and families are aware of risk
factors for suicide, and actively seek help from accessible, effective
community resources. To that end, they focus on public awareness, training,
and communities in action. Training is available that focuses on GLBTQ youth
and the issues they face. These trainings are for service providers that
want more information about suicide prevention and early intervention, more
information on why GLBTQ youth are at an increased risk for suicide and self
harm, and how they can best support these youth to increase their protective
factors against suicide and self harm.
Email: [email protected]; Address: 444
NE Ravenna Blvd., #401, Seattle, WA 98115; Phone: (206) 297-5922; Fax: (206)
297-0818; General email: [email protected];
Website: http://www.yspp.org/

Youth Suicide Prevention: Risk & Protective Factors
– developed by Heather Carter, MA; GLBTQ Project Coordinator, Youth Suicide
Prevention Program. Includes general risk & protective factors which apply
to all youth, and factors that apply to particular groups of youth: GLBTQ
youth, Native American youth, homeless youth, youth involved in juvenile
justice, and youth in foster care. Also includes information on which
studies/research the data was gathered from, and resources on the web.
Published on the Safe Schools Coalition’s website with permission.

http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/YouthSuicidePreventionRisk&ProtectiveFactors.pdf

(pdf file)

Youth Suicide Problems
–
Gay/Bisexual Male Focus
– devoted to this single issue.
http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/

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