Learn how to prevent suicide in your family and community.

Why is this toolkit needed?

Suicide rates have been increasing for two decades now. And during this time Washington’s suicide rate has remained higher than the national average. And starting in 2020, the COVID pandemic had an overwhelming impact on rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, attempts and deaths, as noted in this March 2022 announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Youth suicide was on the rise in the years before the COVID-19, along with anxiety and depression, but the COVID pandemic and its aftermath triggered an emergency in youth mental health, as highlighted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association, the US Surgeon-General and others.

Even several years out from the pandemic, many Americans remain at greater risk of loneliness, anxiety, depression and suicide, but some people may be more vulnerable because of their age, race, sexual orientation, gender, job or family situation.

Suicide Prevention Toolkit Overview

This online toolkit includes steps you can take right now to make your home and community safer, and what to do if you’re faced with supporting someone who may be considering suicide.