1. Youth Suicide Prevention Program
YSPP
Youth Suicide Prevention Program
Introduce self and school suicide prevention program
Introduce YSPP – YSPP started because a 16 year old boy named Trevor Simpson killed himself. His parents, family, friends and community were shocked when he died. They didn’t understand how it could have happened. His parents became advocates for suicide prevention and lobbied the state legislature to get funding for youth suicide prevention. They didn’t want to see this happen to other people. Out of that the state developed the Youth Suicide Prevention Plan. YSPP puts those pieces of the plan into action by raising awareness about the problem of youth suicide, educating students, parents, teachers and others who work with youth and training individuals about how to intervene with someone who is at risk for suicide.
By the end of the class you will know what to do and where to go for help when a friend is at risk of suicide. Sometimes some students find that they need to talk individually to a teacher or counselor after participating in this lesson. That’s okay; think about who you might want to talk with.

2. knowing this could save a life.
What’s the goal?
Recognize when a friend is in trouble;
Know what you can do to help; &
Know where to find that help.
knowing this could save a life.
By the end of this class we want you to be able to:
Recognize when a friend is in trouble
Know what you can do as a friend
Know where to find help
Feel free to ask questions as we go through the presentation.
Suicide is a subject that we don’t talk a lot about. But if we don’t talk about it then we don’t have the information to help friends who are depressed and thinking about suicide. We have to be taught what to look for and what to say. This is not stuff that you just know.

3. Why the Concern?
Two Washington State Youth ( years old) die by suicide each week.
1 of 5 youth seriously considers suicide.
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death.
80% of people who die by suicide have given off clues or talked about suicide.
So, how big is this problem of suicide? Let’s look at some of the facts.
Review content on the slide
There are lots of taboos associated with suicide so the facts aren’t well known and myths are thought to be true.
We want to help teach you about what to look for and where to go to for help so that we have less youth making attempts and dying by suicide in our state.
It’s important to know this information so that suicide can be prevented!

4. Signs & Symptoms of Depression
Anxiety or irritability
Changes in eating/sleeping habits
Physical complaints
Poor school performance
Drug or alcohol abuse
Moodiness, hopelessness, withdrawal
How many of you have known someone who was depressed? (Ask for a show of hands).
How did you know that they were depressed? (elicit responses from the class – be sure that answers include sad or depressed mood, anger-irritability, trouble concentrating, crying, changes in eating and sleeping behaviors, physical complaints, drug and alcohol use, self-harm, and thoughts of suicide).
Depression is when feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair persist over time and interfere with day-to-day functioning.
Everyone gets sad or feels down at times.
Depression becomes a concern when that bad or sad mood lasts for several weeks and it is not possible to cheer up. Here are the signs of depression in adolescents.
Depression doesn’t look the same in adults as it does in teens. We are used to seeing pictures of people looking sad or not being able to get out of bed – this is more common in adults.

5. Benefits of Getting Help for Depression
Safe place to talk
Someone to listen
Learn coping skills
Get support
Most teens who are suicidal are depressed, which is why we started talking about depression.
Most depressed teens can get better by getting help. This doesn’t always mean that you have to take medicine. It means having someone to listen; it means support; it means learning new ways of coping with problems.
Go through points on the slide.
What is a coping skill? Good, it is how we deal with things that happen in our life. We all are different and have different strategies like relaxing, journaling, exercise and sometimes we need to learn new ways.

6. Cups Model Think of stressors you or your peers might have
…a problem, a worry, a
concern, a barrier…
They can be “large”,
“small”, long term, or
short term
1 cup = 1 stressor
So one of the biggest questions that comes up when we’re talking about suicide is ‘why’? Now we are going to ask you to participate in an exercise that will help us understand the reasons.
ACTIVITY: Ask for a volunteer and have them stand in front of the class and instruct them that they are going to hold all of the cups and the “stress” of the class. The only rule is that they cannot stack the cups into one another. Ask the class for stressors, repeat stressor and hand the cup to the volunteer. Repeat for until you get responses.
I want you to imagine that this cup represents a problem, worry or concern that teens might be experiencing-one that could lead them to feel depressed or suicidal.
What is the point of the exercise? That’s right; suicide is a complex issue that usually comes as a result of multiple problems, worries or concerns.
It is important to remember that stress does not cause suicide. Stress can influence someone developing depression which makes someone more at risk for suicide. Anything can be a “cause” of suicide and often times it can be the same things that stress us out in our daily lives.

7. What’s YOUR Role? Adult’s Friend’s Role Role Be a good friend Educate
Show you care
Don’t keep a secret
Know the warning signs
Offer Support
Listen
Be a good
friend
Educate
yourself
about suicide
prevention
Ensure safety
Teach skills
Let’s take a look at your role in helping a friend who might be at risk for suicide.
If you have a friend thinking about suicide or who has talked about it – it is serious! You have a role to play in helping your friend, but it is not to be the adult or to be a counselor.
Talk through the content on the slide
There is a very important role for a friend that includes being a good friend and educating yourself about suicide so you know what to look for and when to be concerned.
The adult’s role is also to be able to assess the seriousness of the suicide talk. When the crisis has resolved they can also teach new skills for coping and dealing with the depression
There are also some things that both roles are responsible for which include some intervention steps that we’ll talk about next. We want you to understand that you need to get them to someone who can help and not try to be the counselor yourself – they need you to be their friend.

8. Warning Signs Talk of suicide Making a suicide plan
Moodiness, irritability, sadness
Withdrawal, hopelessness
Alcohol or drug abuse
Impulsivity
Change in school performance
So how do you know if someone is suicidal? Now you know some of the causes for suicidal behavior and the huge numbers of teens who are dying or attempting suicide, but what clues do you look for if your friend is thinking about ending his life?
What are some warning signs for suicide?
Elicit some responses and then go through the points on the slide.

9. S.A.G. Show you care Ask the question Get help
“I am worried about you; I want to help.”
Ask the question
“Are you thinking about suicide?”
Get help
Do not leave him/her alone
“You are not alone,
let me help you find help.”
There are three helpful phrases to say to a suicidal friend and we want to teach you what they are and have you practice saying them.
All you have to do is remember these three strategies in order to be helpful to a suicidal friend.
You show someone you care when you listen carefully to what they are saying and tell them that you are concerned about their feelings. What are some other ways you can show you care? [Solicit some responses and reinforce good ones.]
The only way to really know if someone is suicidal is to ask, “are you thinking of suicide?” The question may be difficult to ask but it is important that you ask it in a direct, caring and non-judgmental way. It is important to use the word suicide and be direct so that you get a direct response.
If the teen says that he is suicidal, when you ask, then it is important to stay with him and offer to get help.
How would you encourage a friend to get help? What could you say to them?
Not everyone is willing to get help. Sometimes it is hard to encourage them to talk to someone. Remember how important and serious this step is! Their life is at risk. It is better to have a friend that might be mad at you than to have a dead friend. You must get help for them if you are concerned.

10. Resources for Help Trusted adult friend School counselor
Teachers or coaches
Faith community
Older sibling
Parents or other close family
For Immediate Help:
Crisis Line TALK
LGBTQ U-TREVOR
Let’s talk about the resources that are available for a suicidal teen. There are resources in the school as well as in the community.
Where would you go to if you were worried about a friend?
The crisis hot-line is available 24-hours a day. Talking on the phone may feel more comfortable to some people than sharing concerns face-to-face. We are going to pass out help cards that we want you to keep with you. The web site address for the youth suicide prevention program is on the front of the card. It has lots of information about suicide. On the back of the card are the three things that you can do to help a suicidal friend.
LGBTQ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trangendered and Questioning

11. Facing the Facts Youth suicide is a problem in Washington State.
Bringing up suicide will not put the idea in their head.
By talking about suicide you may help save a life.
Go through these quickly to reinforce the points.

12. “The Break-Up” www.yspp.org
Now that we’ve talked about the problem of suicide and how to help we want to try to practice using our skills by going through this scenario.
We are going to have a chance to practice using the helpful phrases. I am going to read a short scenario, describing a student who might be at risk of suicide and then I am going to ask you some questions that allow you to use the helpful strategies
We call this scenario “the break-up”.

13. Background Jack and Ashley just broke up
Jack previously said he’d kill himself if they broke up
Jack doesn’t seem like himself
You asked Jack about what he said, but he said he was fine and wouldn’t hurt himself
You aren’t sure if Jack was serious
You are concerned and wonder what you should do
Pass out “cut out” scenario. Read the scenario aloud and let them read along.
Click through the bullet points to review the main points.

14. What should you be looking for?
Talk of suicide
Making a suicide plan
Moodiness, irritability, sadness
Withdrawl, hopelessness
Alcohol or drug abuse
Impulsivity
Change in school performance
What should you be looking for? Elicit several responses from the class.
Good, those could all be warning signs of suicide that you could be looking for. Here are a few more.
Click through the warning signs.

15. What should you do? Show Jack you care
Directly ask Jack if he is thinking about suicide
Take the situation seriously and get help
Don’t leave Jack alone if he is suicidal
Offer to find Jack help
What should you do?
Elicit several responses from the class.
Good, those could all be ways that you could be helpful to Jack. Here are a few more.
Click through the helping steps.

16. Who could you go to for help?
School counselor
Jack’s favorite coach or teacher
Your parents
Teen Health Center at school
Crisis line TALK
Who could you go to for help?
Elicit several responses from the class.
Good, those could all be people or places that you could find help for Jack. Here are a few more.
Click through the warning signs.

17. Knowing the signs could
Remember: S.A.G
Show you care
Ask the question
Get help
Knowing the signs could
save a life.
Remember the helping steps. We know that you may not currently know anyone who is having thoughts of suicide, but you never know when this information is going to be helpful.
Are there any remaining questions?
Thanks for being such a great audience and having the courage to talk openly about suicide. We believe that suicide is preventable and that we make a difference in the lives of our friends.