Although Suicide Prevention Day, Week, and Month are now over, the suicide prevention work continues. For this month’s blog post, I want to share information directly from Take 5 to Save Lives, which can be found at: www.take5tosavelives.org Hopefully this will provide some practical information that you can use.
In partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) co-sponsored the first annual World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th, 2003 to focus public attention on suicide prevention efforts and activities. Since then, communities, individuals, practitioners, researchers and other professionals around the globe have responded each year on September 10 by raising awareness of the global burden of suicide, implementing prevention initiatives or campaigns, announcing important research findings, developing region-specific prevention strategies, and widely sharing other suicide prevention-focused activities.
To assist in IASP efforts, the National Council for Suicide Prevention (NCSP) launched the Take 5 to Save Lives campaign. Take 5 encourages everyone to complete several action steps under 5 important themes: LEARN, KNOW, DO, TALK, and SHARE. The launch of the 2022-2025 Take 5 to Save Lives campaign broadens recognition of these important suicide prevention activities and includes even more public awareness events including World Suicide Prevention Day, National Suicide Prevention Month, and National Suicide Prevention Week.
The National Council for Suicide Prevention is a coalition of seven national organizations working to prevent suicide. The mission of the NCSP is to advance suicide prevention through leadership, advocacy and a collective voice. During the last year, these organizations have directly impacted the lives of over 2 million people and generated over 100 million media impressions.
The 5 steps are:
Take a few minutes to LEARN the warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors of suicide.
KNOW how to find help and support for yourself and others who may be suicidal.
Preventing suicide requires action. Everyone can DO something to get involved in the suicide prevention movement.
TALKing about suicide does not put the idea of suicide in someone’s head. It can be a lifeline.
SHARE Take 5 to help spread the word about one of the most important public health issues of our time.