Lethal Means Safety Can Save Lives

Safer Homes, Suicide Aware is a public health campaign focused on “lethal means safety” as a way to help reduce both suicides and self-harm through safe storage practices. More than half of all suicides in the US involve a firearm, and approximately a fifth of all suicides and most suicide attempts involve medications. Research has shown that thoughts about suicide do pass, and that a temporary barrier between a person in crisis and their chosen means of suicide can be lifesaving. 

There are many reasons why someone might become suicidal and a variety of ways in which they might attempt suicide. The work of lethal means safety addresses HOW they attempt, not WHY they attempt – and aims to improve the security with which lethal means such as firearms or medications are stored, to reduce access when someone is considering suicide. We also educate and advise on what to do with those lethal means when someone is in crisis.

(This work also helps prevent accidents – especially among children and youth.)

The Safer Homes team distributes lockboxes for medications and firearms, educates participants in suicide risk, and encourages secure, proactive storage for both firearms and medications.  

The main outreach efforts of our program are:

• SAFER (Suicide Awareness for Firearm owners & Education Resources) – in-person lockbox giveaways
• TeleSAFER – remote lockbox distribution
• Targeted Interventions – a cultural competency training for medical and mental health providers
• Firearms industry training & outreach to promote suicide awareness and increase temporary, out-of-home emergency firearms storage
• Quarterly, public, free firearms safety webinars with an emphasis on suicide prevention