In a time when suicide is the leading cause of death among Utah youth, it is more important than ever for families, educators, and community members to be educated about suicide and suicide prevention. This evidence-based toolkit has been created by prevention specialists in collaboration with Utah PTA with a singular goal in mind: to help every child in Utah. It contains a combination of upstream, midstream and downstream approaches designed to help children of all ages in their homes, at PTA activities, in the classroom and more.
When it comes to suicide prevention and mental health promotion, most of the focus is on downstream interventions; that is, pulling our kids out of the water when they are in crisis. Families and educators find themselves exhausted while resources are depleted, and everyone keeps throwing in the life preservers and performing other heroic deeds. We need to place more emphasis on the upstream interventions which can help prevent our youth from falling into the river in the first place. It’s also important to utilize midstream interventions which will help educate our students and families so they know what to do should they find themselves falling into the water. If we are only focused on the downstream rescue, then we will never get ahead of all the crises demanding our attention. We must find a balance between upstream, midstream, and downstream approaches.
It is our hope that each PTA/PTSA will have a prevention specialist who can help implement these ideas throughout the year into things you are already doing, adding a prevention piece to as many activities as possible in order to keep the conversation going.
The activities suggested in the “School Support” section align with the Utah State Board of Education Core Standards for health and are designed to be used by educators and others in the classroom.
Activities are separated by ages (elementary, secondary, or both) and include instructions, templates, and resources needed for implementation. Feel free to adjust activities as needed.