Importance of Suicide Prevention Education

One of the most foundational pieces that led me to Social Work was to the concern and competency that all humans deserve a right to freedom, safety, privacy, adequate living, health care, and education. The emphasis on social justice and the advancement of policy is at the heart of what we do, the level of impact we strive to reach, and to the utmost importance of the individuals, groups and families we help to support.

Throughout my experience and education in the field, I have taken notice to the uncomfortableness surrounding the conversation of suicide prevention and education. In regards to our school systems, this can be immensely alarming considering suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents between the age of 10-24. In a setting where individuals and families trust that above all, their children will be able to be safe, and have the ability to thrive, more must be done to address risk factors and advance the education on suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.

MO House Bill  437 provides guidelines suitable for training or professional development in youth suicide awareness and prevention, sets up authentic district-oriented plans in place for helping implement strategies that can help identify students who are at possible risk of suicide, strategies and protocols for helping students at possible risk, as well as protocols for responding to a suicide death.

The importance for school’s to have the ability to take initiative to advance policies that address suicide prevention, intervention and postvention ultimately help to eliminate any confusion over educator roles and the referral process. These policies also empower and support school personnel to better support students and families at-risk and those who are affected by suicide.

Goals/objectives of MO House Bill 437

The goal of this artifact was to research further the need and impact suicide education could serve in school systems and to create an advocacy document identifying the purpose, background, and recommendations to assist in awareness with helping the legislation reach schools. The objective of this artifact was also to highlight one of the largest risk factors of bullying, which has increased in the recent decade from 11% in 2009 to 14% in 2019 (Missouri DHSS). In Missouri, 29% of high school students say that they have experienced both virtual and in person bullying victimization. Of those students, one in ten say that they have seriously considered suicide (Missouri DHSS). Bullying in school systems has maintained a predominant risk factor, and with the raising rates of suicidal ideation, this can be an alarming factor with little precautionary measures in place.

Tasks Completed & Impact

House Bill 437 has reached committee hearings, and has been read twice, but is lacking momentum to reach the floor and become a state-wide policy. I first started following this bill last year, January 2021, and was disappointed to learn that it has remained in similar processing presently. I chose this issue based on my personal and professional interests in pursuing school social work. I wanted to research the issue in concerns to the more at-risk populations and communities in order to understand all aspects of the social injustice. In short, there could be a much larger impact in regards to addressing the barriers of suicide education. As well as, to the benefit of the lives of our youth and school leaders that spend a majority of their time within this setting. By creating further awareness and education, the hope remains that beginning in the following school year, each school district can offer at least two hours of suicide prevention training to all practicing teachers. This includes the opportunity for The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop materials to be used for such trainings, assisted and developed by third-party expertise in suicidal prevention and education. MO HB 437 would also require public schools, charter schools, and public institutions of higher education to issue pupil identification cards to have printed on them the specific phone numbers for outreach de-escalation supports, as well those for the National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Text Line to make crisis support and resources more easily accessible for all students. There is still much work to do to further this conversation, but the advancement of this bill would help school systems reach an area of impact to a population that may otherwise be overlooked or unjustly supported.

Lessons Learned

With MO HB 437 reaching committee and being read twice, it’s more crucial than ever to emphasize advocacy efforts concerning the advancement of needed suicidal prevention education. Suicide can affect an entire community and ensuring the safety of youth is vital to the overall mission of a school system, and its working environment. The mental health of students can often be overlooked and this bill takes the initiative in addressing the barriers with suicidal prevention, intervention and postvention. Additionally, one of the more important aspects of this research and advocacy work is keeping in mind the understanding and process that is associated with any major change or policy implementation, especially in regards to more sensitive topics, such as suicide. This bill has seen its upward battle as of recently, but with as important as the impact can be, the persistence to see this through is imperative to the youth of our state, and to the families that put so much trust in their school systems for a majority of their children’s formative years.

Skills, competencies and/or capacities learned

• Identification of strengths and vulnerabilities of systematic school policy initiatives.
• Research and apply knowledge of diverse populations to enhance client well-being.
• Contribute to the theoretical knowledge base of the social work profession through practice-based research.
• Use knowledge of the effects of suicidal prevention, intervention and postvention on client and client systems to guide treatment planning and intervention.
• Promotion of emotional well-being and connectedness among all students.