September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Over 800,000 people die by suicide worldwide every year. In the United States, suicide rates have surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, with increases in every age group.
The Church provides many resources to help understand, prevent, and heal from the pain of suicide.
- The main website is suicide.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. It has helpful resources for those who are struggling with thoughts of suicide, those who want to help, and those who have lost a loved one.
- A related website mentalhealth.ChurchofJesusChrist.org is also helpful, because 90% of people who die by suicide also lived with mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
The Church website features three videos with Elder Dale G. Renlund to help you approach those who may be considering suicide. “We need to reach out with love and understanding… And you do that in concert with health care professionals, with ecclesiastical leaders, with friends and family support.”
- See a complete list of Church resources about suicide.
- See more resources about suicide.
