The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn prides itself on holding interesting and topical speakers at our meetings.  Recently, Fair Lawn Rotarians welcomed Lorraine K. Mackin, CFRE, New Jersey Area Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention AFSP).  AFSP’s mission, as a not-for profit   organization, is exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide.  In New Jersey, AFSP’s volunteers build relationships with public officials and advocate on behalf of sound prevention policy.

 

Some Suicide Prevention Programs and Initiatives in New Jersey include:

                In 2004 the New Jersey legislature established the Youth Suicide Advisory Council to advise and make recommendations to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for youth suicide reporting, prevention and intervention.

                The Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth Program at Rutgers-University Behavioral HealthCare is an interactive, statewide network that offers collaboration and support to professionals working with school-aged youth.  The program is funded/overseen by the DCF Division of Children’s System of Care and operates as a county-based collaborative.

                New Jersey law (§18A:6-112) requires that public school teaching staff members complete at least 2 hours of instruction in suicide prevention in each professional development period.  The instruction must be provided by a licensed health care professional with training and experience in mental health issues, and must include information on the relationship between suicide risk and incidents of harassment, intimidation, and bullying and information on reducing suicide risk in students who are members of high risk communities.

                The New Jersey Youth Suicide Prevention State Plan for 2011-2014 was completed in 2010 and is accessible at http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/documents/behavioral/prevention/preventionplan.pdf.

 

Lorraine also shared with the Club some statistics and warning pertaining to this important subject matter.

 

Suicide is the 13th leading cause of death overall in New Jersey.  On average, a person dies by suicide every 13 hours in the state.  In New Jersey suicide is:

                3rd leading cause of death for ages 15-24               7th leading cause of death for ages 10-14

                4th leading cause of death for ages 25-44               9th leading cause of death for ages 55-64

                6th leading cause of death for ages 45-54               19th leading cause of death for ages 65 & older

 

Talk Saves Lives!               Don’t assume someone will reach out.  Only 1 in 5 seeks help.  You can encourage them to make that critical first step to help themselves.

                1) Ask if you can talk in private

                2) Ask questions to open up the conversation

                3) Listen to their story, and express concern and caring

                4) Ask if they thought about hurting themselves or ending their life

                5) Encourage them to seek mental health services.  Tell them that seeking help can take               courage, but it’s the smart thing to do.

It is important that you take what is said seriously, avoid minimizing their feelings, avoid advice to fix it, avoid debating on the value of life and avoid offering clichés.  If possible, escort them to an ER, counseling service center or psychiatrist.

Please see important flyers posted in our "downloads" of our home page for additional helpful information.

Out of the Darkness Community Walks are the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s signature event to raise awareness of suicide and to promote an understanding of this matter.  Information on these events can be found at www.afsp.org/walk.

 

For more information on the work that American Foundation for Suicide Prevention does to help others, please visit them at www.AFSP.ORG or you can contact Lorraine K. Mackin at lmackin@afsp.org.