Preventing suicides in California: Best practices and initial outcomes

More Californian's die by suicide than by homicide, and 90% of these individuals have a diagnosable mental illness or substance use disorder at the time of their death1. $40 million was allocated by the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act (MHSA; formerly Proposition 63) to address this issue. Californians are preventing suicides through a multi-pronged approach that teaches the public to recognize the signs of suicide; reaches those at risk for suicide through support systems, including text, chat, and phone hotlines; expands and increases the capacity of these hotlines; and trains community members, employers, law enforcement, teachers and diverse others to recognize and respond to mental health crises. Where possible, programs leverage existing resources and work with communities to define needs, especially as they relate to cultural and linguistic populations. Panelist Sarah Bricher will describe the projects, challenges encountered and their resolutions, and the available mid-point outcomes from the independent evaluation. Examples include a discussion of the challenges of collecting hotline call information, and inconsistencies in data reporting.