Capitol ceremony marks suicide prevention awareness week
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Event held to remember those who died and to promote prevention efforts
September 9, 2014
Contact: Jennifer Miller, 608-266-1683
Shel Gross, 608-250-4368
MADISON—A ceremony to mark Suicide Prevention Awareness Week was held today at noon at the Wisconsin State Capitol to both remember those who have died by suicide and highlight suicide prevention efforts throughout the state.
The recent Burden of Suicide Report 2007-2011 released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), the Injury Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), and Mental Health America of Wisconsin (MHA), showed that there was an average of over 700 suicides per year during that time period.
“The current level of suicide in Wisconsin is both unacceptable and unnecessary,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Kevin Moore. “Suicide is one of the most preventable forms of death and DHS is committed to reducing the number of our citizens who die by suicide.”
In Wisconsin, the highest risk for suicide is found among middle-aged men, a group that can be resistant to asking for help. Cheryl Wittke, Executive Director of Safe Communities in Madison, talked about her organization’s promotion of Man Therapy, a web site and other tools aimed toward helping men in this age group. “This website uses humor to engage men who might otherwise not spend 30 seconds on a website learning about mental health issues. We have found that the average time on this site is over six minutes, so we feel we’re getting the message across.” This age group is also targeted through bus ads that read: “You Can’t Fix Your Mental Health With Duct Tape”. Examples of the ads were on display at today’s ceremony.
Because the majority of people who die by suicide are currently seeing, or recently have seen, a health or behavioral health care provider, Wisconsin health care providers are joining together for what is termed the “Zero Suicide Movement” to better assess and manage clients who may be suicidal. “When we examined our system we found that each of our 18 programs was assessing suicide risk differently. By coming up with a uniform tool that is part of our electronic medical record, we are improving our practice and our internal communication around suicide,” said Toni Simonson, Executive Director of North Central Health Care, which is participating in the effort.
The group Helping Others Prevent and Educate about Suicide (HOPES), for people who have lost loved ones to suicide uses quilts to memorialize their loved ones and to remind us of the stakes of failing to act when we sense someone may be suicidal. “Those of us who have gone through this experience don’t want any more families to do so; that is why we are committed to educating people about the warning signs of suicide and how to respond,” said Sue Howell, a member of the Prevent Suicide Wisconsin Steering Committee and HOPES volunteer. The HOPES quilts will be on display at the capitol for the remainder of Suicide Prevention Awareness Week.
For more information about suicide prevention, visit: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/health/injuryprevention/SuicidePrevention.htm
For additional information, and to learn about suicide prevention coalitions in your area, visit:http://www.preventsuicidewi.org/
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Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Communications Staff
Media Line: 608-266-1683
dhs.wisconsin.gov
