Every suicide is preventable.

It can be thought of as a long term solution to short term problems.

Things will always eventually become brighter, no matter how deep the darkness currently being experienced or how long it has gone on. If there is one constant in life, it is change.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, when mental health organizations and individuals across the US and around the world raise awareness of suicide prevention.

According to Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board (CSAB), this major public health problem has far-reaching personal, social, and economic implications. Despite increased awareness, research, funding, and national agendas, suicide deaths have been rising, without pause, since 1999.

It is that time of the year to highlight the tools that are out there to help people get through the dark times.

According to the Connecticut Office of the Medical Examiner, there were 353 suicides in 2023, including 31 suicides in the age range of 10 to 24.

Today, deaths by suicide outnumber those by both homicide and motor vehicle accidents, and suicide is still robbing us of some of our most promising young people.

For every suicide death, CSAB points out we lose the unique gifts of the individual who has died. But its ripple effect has a broad impact across space and time — every suicide creates dozens of loss survivors, who suffer immense pain and complex grief, and are at greater risk of suicide themselves.

While the massive promotion behind the 2022 launch of 988 as the national emergency suicide prevention hotline has made a measurable impact connecting those most desperate with help, here in Newtown we should all play a role by making our loved ones, friends, and especially our teens and college age children aware they are never alone in their deepest sorrow.

The CT Mirror reported recently that since August 2019, clinicians have been screening children 10 and older in the emergency department at Connecticut Children’s in Hartford, asking them a series of questions to assess their suicide risk, after their parent or caregiver is asked to leave the room. In Connecticut, 11 children have died by suicide so far this year, nine of those in the past few months. To put that in perspective, just six children age 17 and younger died by suicide in all of 2023.

Kids who do screen positive are directed toward appropriate mental health services. For some high-risk children, that might be an inpatient program. For others who are not in immediate danger of self harm, a counseling session or further evaluation might be scheduled in the comfort of their home.

Of the 75,000 children the hospital has screened in the past five years, 18% were positive for risk of suicide. That’s nearly one in five children. Most of those children arrived at the emergency department for a behavioral health issue in the first place. But an extraordinary number — around 6,000 children — initially arrived for a medical issue such as an asthma attack or a broken bone and ended up screening positive for suicide risk.

Dr Steven Rogers of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center told the Mirror he is fighting a perception that simply discussing suicide with children might plant a seed of suicidal ideation. According to Rogers, that idea is a misnomer.

“It plants the seeds of hope,” he said.

In fact, he said, “the screening tool can at the very least inform children that there is a place they can go that will ask them if they are considering suicide, a place where they can also get help. Because,” he said, “all too often, caregivers never have these conversations with children at all.”

The CSAB advises anyone to call 911 or 988 when you hear or see someone threatening to hurt or kill themselves; looking for ways to kill themselves such as seeking access to pills, weapons, or other means; and/or talking or writing about death, dying, or suicide.

Readers can also call 211 or 988 should you witness, hear, or see someone exhibiting hopelessness, rage, or anger; seeking revenge; acting reckless or engaging in risky activities, seemingly without thinking; feeling trapped — like there’s no way out; or increasing alcohol or drug use. Also look for those withdrawing from friends, family, or society, those exhibiting anxiety, agitation, an inability to sleep or sleeping all the time, dramatic mood changes, no reason for living and/or no sense of purpose in life.

If you or someone you know is in mental health distress or is thinking of suicide, please call or text 988 for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or chat 988lifeline.org. And in an emergency, call or text 911.