OhioMHAS announces funding to prevent and reduce suicide deaths among Black youth, young adults
Editor’s note: If you are feeling suicidal, talk to someone. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. Call or text 988. The Lifeline is available for everyone and is free and confidential.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) Tuesday announced details of a new statewide effort to help prevent suicide deaths among Black youth and young adults.
“Suicide is devastating for those left behind, including family members, loved ones, friends and communities,” said Governor DeWine. “Over the last several years, national and state data has shown a troubling increase in suicide rates among Black children and young adults. Every single loss is significant and tragic, which is why our hope with this initiative is to strengthen supports for our young people and help them build the resiliency needed to reach their full, God-given potential.”
The Black Youth and Young Adults Suicide Prevention Initiative is an innovative approach that seeks to reduce suicide by increasing access to high-quality, culturally responsive prevention and early intervention services that work to reduce risk and strengthen protective factors.
As part of the initiative OhioMHAS has awarded $500,000 to the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF) to build local and statewide capacity to strengthen and amplify multi-sector efforts to prevent suicide, reduce stigma and address other issues to reduce the rates of suicide in Black youth and young adults. The project will primarily focus on serving at-risk youth between the ages of 10-24 who reside in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Montgomery, Muskingum and Summit counties. To help achieve its goals, OSPF will engage leaders from Black churches, other faith-based organizations and community centers.
“Suicide in the Black community has been increasing over the past decade and longer,” said Tony Coder, Executive Director of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation. “We are grateful for Governor DeWine and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services’ commitment to mental health and suicide prevention in underserved populations to curb the tide on this devastating issue.”
Other objectives include:
• Conducting a series of professional development and skill-building opportunities for community leaders to build culturally competent and trauma-informed suicide prevention expertise.
• Hosting the 2nd Annual Suicide Prevention in the Black Community Conference.
• Promoting trainings on evidence-informed strategies such as The Living Works Faith program to aid community leaders in offering effective suicide prevention programs.
• Promoting the Be Present Ohio and Life Is Better With You Here awareness campaigns.
• Developing and distributing a resource toolkit to guide organizations in implementing Black youth and young adult suicide prevention strategies in alignment with the 2024-2026 Ohio Suicide Prevention Plan developed in partnership with Governor DeWine’s RecoveryOhio initiative.
Five additional organizations will be awarded $250,000 each to lead regional and locally focused suicide prevention efforts. Those organizations include Legacies Empowered, the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, NAMI Franklin County, Project Lift Services and the Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program of Lucas County.
On average, five Ohioans take their own lives each day and one youth dies every 34 hours. Suicide was the second-leading cause of death among Ohioans 10-34 years of age and the twelfth-leading cause of death in Ohio in 2021, according to the latest statistical report from the Ohio Department of Health. From 2020 to 2021, the number of suicide deaths (1,766) increased 8 percent, and the rate of suicide death (14.8 deaths per 100,000 population) increased 7 percent. Between 2011 and 2021, the rate of suicide deaths among Black Ohioans increased from 6.1 per 100,000 (2011) to 10.2 per 100,000 (2021).
Nationally, Black youth have the fastest growing suicide rate compared to their peers of other racial and ethnic groups. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), between 2007 and 2020, the suicide rate among Black youth ages 10-17 increased by 144 percent; from 1.54 per 100,000 in 2007 to 3.77 per 100,000 in 2020.
“These trends underscore the importance and urgency of Governor DeWine’s efforts to prioritize the expansion of behavioral health services throughout Ohio,” said OhioMHAS Director LeeAnne Cornyn. “While suicide rates are on the rise among all ages and racial and ethnic groups, the narrowing gap among Black youth warrants attention now. We are proud to support this important initiative and look forward to working alongside our partners to promote wellness and save lives.”