Region 5 Suicide Advisory Board
This advisory board is made up of local prevention council representatives, clinicians, people with lived experience, prevention professionals, school social workers and psychologists, healthcare, crisis intervention specialists and law enforcement. All are welcome to help promote this important initiative.
Anyone interested in joining the Region 5 Suicide Advisory Board can sign up here.
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Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board
Mission: The CTSAB is a network of diverse advocates, educators and leaders concerned with addressing the problem of suicide with a focus on prevention, intervention, and health and wellness promotion.
Vision: The CTSAB seeks to eliminate suicide by instilling hope across the lifespan.
Membership: The CTSAB is a diverse, collaborative network of over 600 people and 200 agencies representing state and local agencies, profit and non-profits, community and faith-based organizations, hospitals, military, schools, higher education, towns, private citizens, students, survivors, individuals with lived experience, and advocates.
If you are interested in joining the CTSAB and listserv, sign up here.
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We can all play a role in supporting the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) communities.
Stories of Pride celebrate the stories of strength, resilience, and connection that shape LGBTQ young people’s sense of pride. Everyone’s story is different: pride can mean out and proud, questioning, or just beginning the journey.
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Fast Facts
- People who identify as LGBTQ+ have more frequent suicidal thoughts, and rates are continuing to rise. Fifty-six percent of LGBTQ+ individuals who took an MHA depression screen in 2021 reported having suicidal thoughts more than half or nearly every day of the previous two weeks - nearly 7% higher than the reported rate in 2019. (MHA Screening)
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The Trevor Project reports that 73% percent of LGBTQ+ youth report experiencing symptoms of anxiety, 58% report symptoms of depression, and 45% report having seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.
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According to the U.S. Transgender Survey, 40% of transgender adults have attempted suicide during their lifetime, compared to less than 5% of the general U.S. population.
Looking for more facts, graphics and messaging you can share?
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Some Key Protective Factors for LGBTQ Youth
Social support and acceptance from adults and peers
Affirming spaces and activities, especially at school
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The Trevor Project’s research has found that LGBTQ youth who found their school and home to be LGBTQ-affirming reported lower rates of attempting suicide.
Policies and practices that support transgender and nonbinary youth
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Transgender and nonbinary youth attempt suicide less when their pronouns are respected, when they are allowed to officially change the gender marker on their legal documents, and when they have access to spaces that affirm their gender identity.
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The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey
on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health
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These data provide critical insights into some of the unique suicide risk factors faced by LGBTQ youth, top barriers to mental health care, and the negative impacts of COVID-19 and relentless anti-transgender legislation. |
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This research also highlights several ways in which we can all support the LGBTQ young people in our lives—and help prevent suicide. |
Explore the full survey here.
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Connecticut State Suicide Prevention Plan 2025 |
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Goal 1: Integrate and coordinate suicide prevention activities across multiple sectors and settings.
Objectives:
- Integrate, establish, and sustain suicide prevention into the values, culture, leadership and work of a broad range of organizations and programs.
- Establish effective, sustainable, and collaborative suicide prevention activities at the state, tribal, and local levels.
- Sustain and strengthen collaborations across state agencies to advance suicide prevention.
- Develop and sustain public-private partnerships to advance suicide prevention.
- Integrate suicide prevention into all relevant healthcare reform efforts.
What the R5SAB is Doing to Work Towards Goal 1
- Facilitating quarterly meetings to share information and updates among local organizations, healthcare providers, schools, and more.
- Collaborating with local partners to provide suicide prevention training and education across the region including providers, schools, law enforcement and universities.
- Disseminating the CTSAB's 1 Word, 1 Voice, 1 Life campaign at community tabling events, trainings and on social media.
- Expanding the reach of the Gizmo's Pawesome Guide to Mental Health book and accompanying curriculum across the region.
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Connecticut Violent Death Reporting System (CTVDRS)
Have you ever wondered where CT gets its suicide death-related data?
The CTVDRS is an incident-based, relational database that combines information from multiple sources to provide comprehensive context and answers to the questions (who, what, when, where, and why) leading to violent deaths.
Main data sources include:
- Medical examiners' reports (including the toxicology reports)
- Death certificates
- Law enforcement reports (state and local)
According to the NVDRS definition, a violent death includes:
- Homicides
- Suicides
- Deaths by legal intervention
- Unintentional firearm injury deaths
- Injury deaths of undetermined intent
Some key takeaways from an article written by the CDC on the NVDRS program, including CTVDRS data, include:
- Of the 51,627 deaths, the majority (64.1%) were suicides.
- The suicide rate was higher for males than for females.
- Across all age groups, the suicide rate was highest among adults aged 45–54 years.
- Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) and non-Hispanic White (White) persons had the highest suicide rates among all racial and ethnic groups.
- Among males, the most common method of injury for suicide was a firearm, whereas poisoning was the most common method of injury among females.
- Among all suicide victims, suicide was most often preceded by a mental health, intimate partner, or physical health problem or by a recent or impending crisis during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks.
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The Jordan Porco Foundation is committed to preventing suicide in the high school, college, and college entry student population. JPF is challenging stigma around mental health and help-seeking, creating open conversations about the prevalence of suicide and mental health issues in the young adult population, and saving lives. |
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The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people.
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Upcoming Learning Opportunities |
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Join Western CT Coalition for QPR suicide prevention training on June 8. Click on the flyer to register. |
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ASIST teaches the skills needed to provide suicide first aid help as part of the care you provide. Click on the flyer to register. |
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This town hall will explore the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on behavioral health services for the queer community, discuss how the intersection of class, race, and disabilities add complexities to providing and receiving services and explore how to increase access to behavioral health services for the queer community.
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