Less than five years ago, Hawaii ranked No. 1 in the nation for the rates that youth considered suicide, planned a suicide, and actually attempted suicide.
But no more, said Elaine de Mello, who helped develop a program that’s increased awareness of the crisis and lowered the rate of suicide among Hawaii’s youth. “We have now reduced that in 2011,” she said of the latest numbers available.
“We’re no longer No. 1,” she said, yet, “we’re still in the top 10.”
De Mello is supervisor of Training & Prevention Services for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in New Hampshire. She develops curriculum and travels the country training communities in suicide prevention and response.
Hawaii is in the middle of a three-year, $1.4 million federal grant to reach school officials, substance abuse counselors, community leaders and local police to help communities cope with youth suicide. “It’s allowing us to work on every island,” she said. An earlier grant focused on youth suicide prevention techniques.
De Mello was on Hawaii Island last week to conduct a workshop in “post-vention,” a word coined for working with communities to heal from the ravages of suicide and to prevent further risks. “There is so much stigma, people don’t know what to say to survivors,” de Mello said.
“We requested “post-vention,” said Jo Anne Balberde-Kamalii, a behavioral counseling specialist at Hilo High School. For many, suicide is a very difficult topic to address, she said. “How do we support the students, families, and friends?”
The workshop’s guest speaker on Friday was a suicide survivor. “She brought to life all the steps we trained in,” said Balberde-Kamalii. “I am thrilled to the gills to have this program.”
Key indicators of youth suicide (ages 10-24) in Hawaii have dropped since 2005, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2011 study of youth behavior. Youth that have seriously considered suicide fell from 18.5 percent of the population to 16.1 percent, and actual suicide attempts dropped from 12 percent to 8.6 percent. But those percentages for Hawaii youth are still higher than national averages in 2011.
“We do know we are increasing knowledge,” said Deborah Goebert, an associate professor of psychiatry on the staff of the Hawaii Caring Communities Initiative at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. “More people are connected than ever before.”
The Burns School of Medicine received the $1.4 million grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “We can’t not do something about suicide deaths in our state,” Goebert said. The program focuses on recognizing signs, improving public awareness, and training key personnel — educators, police and medical personnel, she said.
About 40 representatives from Hospice of Hilo, Hawaii Police Department, Queen Liliuokalani Children’s Center, the state departments of Health and Education, Hilo Medical Center and University of Hawaii at Hilo attended Friday’s session in Hilo.
Through the “Safe-Talk” program, another component of the HCCI-sponsored awareness and prevention programs, Balberde-Kamalii and others also are recruiting youth leaders to bring safe, positive messages to their own peers about suicide issues.
De Mello said the efforts of people like Balberde-Kamalii and Larry Walter, pastor of the First United Protestant Church and community coordinator for the Hawaii’s Caring Communities Initiative for Youth Suicide Prevention, are making Hawaii “one of the most progressive and strategic partners in the U.S.” in the effort to reduce youth suicide rates.
