July 2023 Call to Action

The monthly newsletter of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network

June included the quarterly Advisory Council meeting/ retreat where we discussed:

Approval of the new guidelines for Emeritus Group membership and the Group’s participation in the Network at large.
Council members and staff were briefed on a new form required for signature by all TSPN volunteers, including Council members. The form is intended to indicate volunteers’ understanding of Title VI requirements and confidentiality issues. Regional Directors can provide more information on this.
Discussion of forming a Zero Suicide Coalition/ taskforce within Tennessee where resource sharing, successes, and hindrances can be aired in one place and we can all learn from one another (and new agencies can see what others are implementing successfully). Additionally having a zero suicide conference as part of the September meeting.
Forming an exploratory committee to research the prospect of TSPN becoming a 501c3 nonprofit. Updates will be available as the Exploratory Committee researches requirements and the viability of TSPN as a possible standalone agency. TAADAS leadership indicating it will be a while before TSPN has the funding to branch off as a 501c3 but that this is the ultimate goal.

For those interested in the most recent annual report on suicide in Tennessee, please look to the Tennessee department of health website as they will be the entity providing this report moving forward. Here is a link to the PDF for their most recent report: Suicide in TN Data

PSA regarding ESSENCE alerts:

With the recent update of the TSPN website, we’ve also updated the links for our ESSENCE Alerts. Make sure to update any of your posts, website content, and materials to make sure they carry this new link for the ESSENCE information and sign-up page.

General information: https://tspn.org/essence

Sign-up: https://tspn.org/essence-sign-up-forms

Special reminder:

The Suicide Memorial Quilt for Tennessee: 2023 Have you lost someone you love to suicide? We’re ready to create a new memorial quilt for the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. This quilt is specifically to remember Tennessee residents who died by suicide or people who died by suicide when their loved ones are Tennessee residents. If you’ve lost a family member or loved one to suicide and would like to honor the person’s memory by having a quilt square on this quilt, Contact Karyl Chastain Beal at karylofcolumbia@cs.com to ask for the quilt square directions. The dedication of the 2023 quilt is scheduled for November 4, 2023 in Nashville, with loved ones who submitted invited to attend.

SAVE THE DATE

In this issue

Statistics and resources for Native American and

Alaskan Native Population

Statistics and resources for Active Duty Military

Upcoming training and awareness events across the state

and more!

Native American & Alaskan Native

A report by the CDC released earlier this year suggested the 2021 suicide rate was back up after the two year decline we witnessed between 2018 and 2020. The CDC report stated: "Age-adjusted 2021 suicide rates were highest among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons (28.1 per 100,000) overall; this group also experienced the highest relative percentage change during 2018–2021 (from 22.3 to 28.1 per 100,000; a 26% increase)."

Zero Suicide Institute states that suicide rates are up to three times higher among Indigenous Native American and Alaska Native people than among any other racial or ethnic group in the United States.

Unique Protective Factors for these communities include but are not limited to:

Sovereignty

Community control or autonomy

Cultural identification

Language

Spirituality

Healing ways

Kinship models

Family connectedness

How can we, the community, start to help mitigate these rising numbers?

"Understanding that Indigenous people are not a homogenous group should be one of the most important drivers to consider for health and behavioral health care programs and services promoting suicide-safe care in Native American and Alaska Native communities. Screening, treatment, and follow-up interventions should be designed based on the specific issues affecting each group of interest. They should be culturally-relevant, involve the most appropriate community Elders, Traditional Healers, and other important people, and consider factors such as attitudes toward death and suicide, mental health and substance use challenges, and help-seeking behavior." ~ ZSI website

Resource page for a deep dive on Native American's and Alaska Natives relating to suicide and suicide prevention

CDC report

Photos from events across Tennessee

South West Regional Director, Emily Lunn, at Tennessee Technical Institute after conducting a QPR!

A photo from the Volunteers helping at the Lavergne Juneteenth Celebration!

RCSPC hosted a resource table at The Lavergne Juneteenth Celebration Saturday June 18, 2023. Thanks to Mr. Corbin and Elder Deborah Foster, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority ( Tiffany Alley and Gloria Caples) and Rhonda Alley for volunteering at the event. Resources were well received and Rhonda Alley was a speaker sharing the importance of mental health and suicide prevention awareness.