[YSPNetwork] FYI: The Last Word on the Financial Crisis and Suicide Prevention

[Donna NOONAN]

YSPNetworkers,
I'm forwarding a thoughtful article by Franklin Cook editor of the
Suicide Prevention News & Comment (SPNAC (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.wordpress.com/ )):

The Last Word on the Financial Crisis and Suicide Prevention
In Media ( http://wordpress.com/tag/media/ ), Prevention (
http://wordpress.com/tag/prevention/ )on January 28, 2009 at 4:14 pm

By Franklin Cook, SPNAC Editor
Other than the Nov. 24, 2008, post *SPRC Gives Prevention Workers Info
on Economy, Suicide (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/sprc-gives-prevention-workers-info-on-economy-suicide/
),* I have intentionally avoided coverage of suicide and the financial
crisis because I fear that the present*and rather intense*media focus on
the *connection* between the two might contribute to suicide contagion (
http://www.hhs.gov/faq/healthprograms/mentalhealth/1704.html ). The Nov.
24 post introduced a user-friendly SPRC document (
http://www.sprc.org/library/Economy_Unemployment_and_Suicide_2008.pdf
) that helps explain *the relationship between the economy,
unemployment, and suicide* and is organized into *talking points [that]
summarize what is known about these complex relationships.*
For essential information on preventing contagion in a community, see
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ( http://cdc.gov/ ) and
Prevention*s document *CDC Recommendations (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/cdc_suicideclusters.pdf
) for a Community Plan for the Prevention and Containment of Suicide
Clusters.*
Those recommendations are succinctly summarized*from the perspective of
schools but also covering an entire community*s response*in a
presentation by Frank Zenere of the National Emergency Assistance Team (
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/NEAT.aspx ) of the
National Association of School Psychologists, titled *Tragic
Connections: (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/sprc-commresponse.pdf
) Identification And Assessment Of Youth Suicide Contagion.*
A seminal document on the relationship between media coverage and
suicide is *Reporting on Suicide:  (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/mediarecommendations_full.pdf
)Recommendations for the Media.* (This is an excellent resource, but it
is a bit dated, mainly because it lacks references to online media)
Those recommendations are summarized in a publication from the Suicide
Prevention Resource Center (SPRC ( http://www.sprc.org/ )):
*At-a-Glance: (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/media-guide-suicide-summary3.pdf
) Safe Reporting on Suicide.*
The three largest nonprofit organizations focusing on suicide
prevention in the United States have all weighed in with authoritative
(based on science and facts) statements about suicide and the economy.
Here they are:
Statement (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/aas-economy-and-suicide.pdf
) by the American Association of Suicidology (AAS (
http://www.suicidology.org/ ))
Statement (
http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_ID=25EEDC9B-CF1C-2465-1DA708EE2C0357E1
) by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP (
http://www.afsp.org/ ))
A list of *things ( http://www.spanusa.org/ ) you can do to help* from
the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA (
http://www.spanusa.org/ )), available on its homepage (
http://www.spanusa.org/ ) (below the fold under the heading *Listen
and Act to Prevent Suicide During the Economic Crisis*)

Some of the best recent media pieces about suicide and the economic
downturn (in my opinion * others can suggest additional candidates in
*Comments,* below) are the International Herald Tribune*s *Economic
collapse brings out resilience in most, experts say (
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/11/americas/suicide.php ),* USA
Today*s *Economy prompts more calls to suicide hotlines (
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-
11-suicide-hotlines_N.htm
),*  the Toronto Star*s *The myth of post-crash pavement suicides (
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/568446 ),* the Montreal Gazette*s
*Economic crisis takes toll on mental health (
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Economic+crisis+takes+toll+mental+health/1163943/story.html
)* (which even mentions protective factors (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/sprc-risk-protective-factors.pdf
)), and a column by David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times* *Social
services see recession*s toll (
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus10-2009jan10,0,684032.column
).* (Please note that these articles are not referenced because they
adhere strictly to the media guidelines*very little media coverage does
that, especially when it comes to brief descriptions of method*but
rather because they come close to following the recommendations and they
cover their subject both artfully and helpfully.)
And the last word is this, from today*s editorial (
http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1497052.html ) in McCook Daily
Gazette, a small-town newspaper in Nebraska:
*Am I my brother*s keeper?* While Cain and God both knew the answer *
Cain had already killed his brother Abel * not all of us have answered
the question for ourselves.
As economic conditions deteriorate, more and more of us are needing
help from our friends and neighbors * and more and more of us are being
called upon to provide that help.
We don*t know all of the details of the tragic deaths of a California
family of seven, but it appears to be a murder-suicide involving a man
worried about his job at a medical center * In a completely different
situation, a 93-year-old World War II veteran in Michigan apparently
died of hypothermia after the city limited his electricity for unpaid
utility bills *
As we read about thousands of jobs disappearing each week, we can be
sure variations of the two tragedies recounted above will be repeated
all too often.
Certainly the elderly man would have been saved, had someone known the
heat in his home was completely shut off. Not all of the details are
known in the death of the California family, but intervention of some
type at the right time could surely have made a difference.
Whatever the situation, it behooves all of us to keep tabs on our
friends and neighbors to make sure they*re coping with the challenges
life throws at them.
Even more important is the need for those of us who encounter tough
times, whatever the cause, to not hesitate to seek help when we need
it.
[The abridged URL for this post is http://tinyurl.com/LastWord-Economy
.]
[Editor's note: Please share this story widely and, if you are so
inclined, whenever you read something online about the connection
between suicide and the financial crisis, please see if there is a
"comments" section associated with it and post a comment, referring to
the URL http://tinyurl.com/LastWord-Economy .]
[Related SPNAC post:] *SPRC Gives Prevention Workers Info on Economy,
Suicide (
http://suicidepreventioncommunity.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/sprc-gives-prevention-workers-info-on-economy-suicide/
)*
_________________________________________________________________

Donna G. Noonan, MPH, CHES
Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator
Injury Prevention & Epidemiology Program
Oregon Public Health Division
800 NE Oregon, Ste 772
Portland, OR 97232
Phone: 971-673-1023 
Fax 971-673-0990
donna.noonan at state.or.us
http://oregon.gov/dhs/ph/ipe/ysp/index.shtml
 
Join YSPNetwork, Youth Suicide Prevention listserv for the Pacific
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