Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Youth Suicide Prevention Newsletter

Passing along highlights from the Oregon Youth Suicide Prevention Newsletter.

Kathy

Kathy Wilson-Fey  
Mental Health & Wellness Manager/Coordinator (she/her)
503-431-4038  |  kwilson-fey@ttsd.k12.or.us


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Crane Meghan via YSPNetwork <yspnetwork@omls.oregon.gov>
Date: Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 12:41 PM
Subject: [YSPNetwork] #u# Announcements: OHA Quarterly Suicide Surveillance Report, International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day events, Statewide School Suicide Prevention Manager job opportunity and more
To: yspnetwork@omls.oregon.gov <yspnetwork@omls.oregon.gov>


 

Good Afternoon,

 

Suicide Surveillance Update (see attached):

A new quarterly report is available. Summary of findings:

 

  • Suicide deaths in 2023 are similar to previous years. Mortality data is still being processed and numbers for recent months may change.
  • Suicide-related visits to EDs and UCCs in 2023 are similar to 2022.
  • Suicide-related visits to EDs and UCCs for youths ages 18 and under in 2023 are similar to 2022.
  • Oregon 988 volume is influenced by many factors such as willingness to seek assistance, awareness of 988, or high-profile suicides of celebrities. Calls have increased annually since 2016. Calls in 2023 align with this trend and reflect the change from a 10-digit to a 3-digit number with the launch of 988 in July 2022. No increases beyond the variation expected have been identified.

  

Youth Peer Support Specialist Training supported by OHA in Nov. 2023

Youth Era is offering Peer Plus trainings from November 27th - December 5th. Tailored for youth and young adult peer support providers, this 40-hour training introduces peer work and various support methods. Successful participants can register as certified Peer Support Specialists in Oregon. The training is online, spanning 7 days, Monday - Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For more details and registration, visit: https://www.youthera.org/trainings?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

 

OHA Youth Data Council recruiting new members

The Youth Data Council (YDC) started in March 2022 as a way for young people to tell the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) Public Health Division and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) how to improve the Student Health Survey (SHS). The SHS is a survey that students take in the fall during class that asks questions about a range of topics that may or may not be relevant to youth and their lives. Students are taking the survey, so it is important for students to have a voice in the topics and types of questions that are being asked, what the data means and how the data is being used. The YDC makes sure that the SHS is focusing on topics and asking questions that are meaningful to students in Oregon schools. The SHS is a tool that helps all Oregon students get the support and services they need to achieve success. We want our survey to reflect the lives of young people across Oregon and provide data to drive programs and policies that will improve students’ well-being. 

 

Members don't need any special skills or training to be part of the YDC – experience in life is enough. YDC members have a wide variety of skills and interests to get the workgroup projects done. YDC members are enthusiastic about sharing their stories, experiences, and ideas to improve the survey and want to partner with adults working in state systems and school districts. To give input on the SHS, YDC members:

 

  • Are 15 to 20 years old, and
  • Have been a student in a public school in Oregon.

If you are interested in being a part of the 2023/24 YDC, or know someone who would be, please fill out this application. Visit their website to learn more. For information, or to learn how your organization can engage with the YDC, contact Kari Greene at kari.greene@odhsoha.oregon.gov.

 

Oregon Suicide Prevention Training Recommendations for school staff and other providers

OHA has created documents to guide behavioral health providers (including traditional health workers), who have suicide prevention requirements based on passage of HB 2315 in 2021 (ORS 675.140, 675.597, 675.805, 676.860 and 676.863), on which course they should consider taking to meet requirements , knowing that different provider roles need different training in suicide prevention, intervention, treatment and postvention response.

 

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Resources

  • NEW: The Trevor Project: Online Safety for LGBTQ Young People: This guide allows young people and parents to explore positive ways to build community on social media and the internet while mitigating the risks of bullying, scams, and other dangers. Check out the guide and consider sharing it with the young people in your lif​e.
  • Frontier Public Health: Achieving mental health equity in Black male suicide prevention: Despite a steady decrease in suicide rates in the United States, the rate among Black males has increased in recent decades. Moreover, suicide is now positioned as the third leading cause of death in this population, signaling a public health crisis. Enhancing the ability for future suicide prevention scholars to fully characterize and intervene on suicide risk factors is an emerging health equity priority, yet there is little empirical evidence to robustly investigate the alarming trends in Black male suicide. We present fundamental areas of expansion in suicide prevention research focused on establishing culturally responsive strategies to achieve mental health equity. Notably, we identify gaps in existing research and offer future recommendation to reduce suicide death among Black males. Our perspective aims to present important and innovative solutions for ensuring the inclusion of Black males in need of suicide prevention and intervention efforts. 

 

Research/Data

  • OHA Opioid Overdose Surveillance Update: Statewide Summary: Mortality data for 2022 are not yet complete, as a result numbers for recent months may change. Totals by year are as follows: 2019 unintentional opioid overdose deaths total 280; 2020 unintentional opioid overdose deaths total 472; 2021 unintentional opioid overdose deaths total 737; 2022 unintentional opioid overdose deaths total 955; and 2023 unintentional opioid overdose deaths currently total 304. The number of opioid overdose visits to EDs and UCCs in 2023 are higher than previous years.

 

  • The Trevor Project: The Mental Health and Well-Being of Latinx LGBTQ Young People: This report explores the unique mental health outcomes of LGBTQ young people who are Latinx, and provides findings specific to Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican LGBTQ youth. It uses data from a national sample of nearly 6,900 Latinx LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 24 who participated in The Trevor Project’s 2023 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People.

 

Webinars/Events

 

  

Grant/Scholarship/Funding Opportunities

  • YouthLine: Mini-Grants and Support for Schools (open until Dec. 8, 2023): Applicants will choose from the following list of suicide prevention activities: Training Day Support; Wellness Event for School Community; Student Curriculum or Program Purchase; Supplies for Physical Wellness Space in School Building; Support for School Clubs and Alliances; and Student-Led Prevention. For the first time, we are offering a Student-Led School Suicide Prevention Mini-Grant! We encourage schools to elevate student perspectives and invite student groups to be creative in engagement with and planning suicide prevention activities. School applications that demonstrate positive impact, collaboration with peers, and harnessing inclusive and equitable practices will receive $600. 
  • Oregon Dept. of Education: Grant Opportunity: Intent to Apply: 23-25 Integrated Community Partnership Grant: The Oregon Department of Education seeks to deepen relationships with students, families, and community members to improve outcomes for all students in Oregon, especially those who have been historically marginalized by the education system. In alignment with this commitment, the Every Day Matters team will be requesting grant applications for community centered projects that address the root causes of chronic absenteeism for the 23-25 biennium. The funding for this competitive grant will be based in the following eligibility requirements: Applicant must be a(n): Community-Based Organization (“CBO”); Culturally-Specific Organization (“CSO”); Early learning hub or an early learning provider; Education Service District (“ESD”); Tribal Government; or . Consortia of the above eligible entities. Applicant must demonstrate its ability to serve Students, including Focal Students, and their families to further the goals of the Integrated Community Partnerships Grant Program. Applicants will be required to partner with local schools and/or districts as a part of the grant process. Organizations are encouraged to consider partnering with other agencies and/or organizations to strengthen capacity to improve student belonging and engagement, and to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism in their local communities. This application is anticipated to be available early this fall. If your organization would like to apply for this grant, please let us know by filling out this form. Responses will ensure that each organization receives timely information about this grant process, including application availability, deadlines and technical assistance webinars. Applicants are not required to submit an Intent to Apply form in order to submit the Application. The RFA will be posted in OregonBuys at https://oregonbuys.gov//. Prospective Applicants are encouraged to register for an OregonBuys account to receive notifications of the upcoming RFA and of possible future business opportunities with the State of Oregon. If you have any questions about the Application, please reach out directly to Ufemia Castaneda, Ufemia.Castaneda@ode.oregon.gov, the single point of contact for this process. Please reach out to Marnie Jewell, marnie.jewell@ode.oregon.gov, if you have any questions about the intent to apply. 
  • Pride Foundation: Community Care Fund (Due 12/4/23): For this grant the definition for “community care” is broad; ‘community care’ is any collective efforts to protect and care for queer and trans communities. We welcome your own definitions. For this fund we prioritize funding queer and trans organizations that are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led and focused organizations in rural communities. we define “rural” as communities that are less populated, under-resourced areas with limited and inequitable access to institutions for support. We purposefully leave our definition vague to encompass the region in which we serve. Priorities will be given to small towns/counties and Reservations and Reservation border towns. We welcome your own definitions of rural. Our application process is flexible, and funds are unrestricted. For this grant the definition for “community care” is broad; ‘community care’ is any collective efforts to protect and care for queer and trans communities. We welcome your own definitions.

 

 

Meghan Crane, MPH

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Zero Suicide in Health Systems Coordinator

Public Health Division

Oregon Health Authority

971-271-2025

meghan.crane@state.or.us

www.oregon.gov/OHA