BHS Highlights
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Awareness Day
From the World Health Organization:
Suicide is a major public health challenge, claiming the lives of more than 720 000 people every year. Each life lost has profound social, emotional, and economic consequences, deeply affecting families, friends, workplaces, and entire communities around the world.
2026 marks the third and final year of the triennial theme for World Suicide Prevention Day (2024–2026), Changing the Narrative on Suicide, with the call to action: Start the Conversation. This theme calls on us all to challenge harmful myths, reduce stigma, and foster open, compassionate conversations about suicide. It is about shifting from silence and misunderstanding to openness, empathy, and support, creating environments where people feel able to speak up and seek help.
Changing the narrative also means driving systemic change. It calls for suicide prevention and mental health to be a priority in public policy, urging governments and institutions to take action. This includes developing and implementing evidence-based strategies, improving access to quality care, and ensuring that those in distress receive the support they need.
For more information, visit World Suicide Prevention Day 2026
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) theme is Stronger Together: Connect. Support. Prevent. Suicide prevention is not one moment or one person's job. It lives in the relationships we build, the support we offer, and the communities we create together. This year’s theme highlight’s the importance of:
• Strengthening connections that protect people before a crisis occurs
• Making sure everyone knows where to turn and knows it before they need it
• Building communities where people feel safe reaching out for help
• Supporting recovery and healing long after a crisis has ended
Suicide prevention touches every part of life – from families and schools to workplaces, faith communities, and health care systems. When people feel connected, valued, and supported, they are more likely to seek help. And when communities come together around a shared commitment to prevention, lives are saved.
Join us and take action to help prevent suicide. Every conversation, every connection can make a difference. Follow SAMHSA all month for resources and ways to connect, support, and prevent: samhsa.gov/about/digital-toolkits/suicide-prevention-month/toolkit
Strengthening Suicide Prevention Together
The people in our lives can be a lifeline. Strong relationships and trusted connections help protect people when life gets hard. Knowing the warning signs of suicide, in adults and in children and teens, means being able to recognize when someone needs support and connect them to help sooner. Prevention is everyone’s responsibility, not just one organization’s. Families, schools, workplaces, faith communities, health systems, and individuals all have a role to play. Small acts of connection, such as a check-in, a shared resource, a moment of genuine attention, are how communities take care of each other.
Start the conversation. Talking openly about suicide reduces stigma and helps people ask for help. Here is how: samhsa.gov/find-support/helping-someone/how-to-talk-to-someone-about-help
Crisis Services
A real person answers every call, text, and chat to 988. The support is free, confidential, and available any time of day or night. 988 is there for anyone who is struggling, not only for people in a full crisis. Feeling overwhelmed or in emotional pain is reason enough to reach out. 988 is available in Spanish, for Veterans, for deaf and hard of hearing callers via ASL Videophone and chat, and in more than 150 languages. Help is there for everyone. Knowing about 988 before you need it, and sharing it with the people in your life, is one of the most important things any of us can do.
You don't have to wait for a crisis to reach out. When you’re worried about yourself or someone you love, a conversation, a call, chat or a text to 988 can help before distress becomes a crisis: 988lifeline.org
Treatment
Treatment works. People who receive timely, compassionate care for suicidal thoughts or behaviors can and do heal. Suicide prevention should be part of everyday health care, not only a crisis response. Screening, planning, and follow-ups belong in routine care. Getting care early, before a crisis escalates, is one of the most powerful things health care can do for someone who is struggling. Connection, planning, and follow-up care make a real difference. When these pieces work together, they save lives.
A call, a text, an attempt to reach out, that’s not a small thing. For some people, it's everything. Connection keeps people alive. Call, text, or chat: 988lifeline.org
Postvention and Recovery
Being there for someone after a loss or an attempt isn't just an act of kindness. It is a form of prevention. People come through crisis. They survive loss. They find their way back. Healing is possible. Those who have lived through suicidal crisis or a suicide loss carry something that matters — insight, resilience, and stories that make prevention more human and more hopeful. Schools, workplaces, and communities with a plan in place after a suicide loss can respond with care, support healing, and help prevent further harm. September is one month. The commitment to connection, support, and healing is for all year long.
Supporting someone after a suicide attempt or suicide loss can help foster healing and reduce future risk. Reach out with compassion. Listen without judgment. Stay connected. Find postvention resources to help support recovery: sprc.org
Please see below an event on September 10, 2026:
