Federal Grant Projects
The Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program (GLS) is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) from September 2024 through September 2029. The program will empower Georgia youth to build hope for the future and counter the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide prevention. Through safe, consistent messaging around suicide, clinical and community-based resources, resiliency building skills and tangible tools, youth will become advocates for their own mental health.
The program will serve youth, ages 10 to 24, in Newton, Rockdale, Meriwether and Carroll counties and surrounding areas, as well as students under age 24 on the campus of Clark Atlanta University. The four target counties selected all have suicide death rates that meet or exceed the state and national average for youth suicide deaths.
State Projects
The Strategic Prevention Framework for Suicide Prevention is an innovative pilot project using SAMHSA’s SPF model, historically used for substance abuse prevention, for the purpose of suicide prevention. The project targets counties in each region of the state with high rates of suicide death. The SPF model stresses using data-driven, research-validated, evidence-based approaches to adapt unique prevention responses to the needs of diverse communities to solve public health problems.
In 2019, providers in each Georgia DBHDD region were selected to begin the SPF process: Assessment, Capacity, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation, with the cross-cutting values of Sustainability and Cultural Competence. By the end of the 2021, projects will be established in eighteen high burden counties across the state using targeted evidence-based strategies based on the needs and capacity of each community. In addition, SPF-SP providers have been collaborating with community prevention alliance workgroups (CPAWs) or starting local suicide prevention coalitions and working to increase the availability of suicide prevention gatekeeper trainings, decrease the stigma surrounding the topic of suicide, and increase awareness of suicide prevention resources in each region.
Research on the Strategic Prevention Framework model shows that it has been successful in increasing prevention capacity and infrastructure across multiple infrastructure domains where implemented.
Suicide prevention coalitions are an integral part of suicide prevention efforts in Georgia. Operating as community-based initiatives, coalitions extend the reach of evidence-based prevention, intervention, and postvention resources and services to reach underserved communities and populations. There are currently 22 suicide prevention coalitions, which bring together local stakeholders to address the unique needs of their communities. These groups use a mixture of media campaigns, training, and community activities to achieve the following goals:
- Promote emotional wellness and resilience
- Reduce stigma associated with mental health and suicide
- Raise awareness of suicide and promote resources
- Increase help-seeking
- Prepare citizens to recognize and respond when someone is at risk for suicide
- Remove barriers in access to and fill gaps in care
- Support the local care network in coordinating and providing care throughout the community
The Suicide Prevention Program works closely with coalitions, offering technical support, training, and networking opportunities to support the growth, development, and sustained efforts of coalitions across Georgia.
The Suicide Prevention Program collaborates with state and community partners to coordinate outreach, resource & referral, and support after suicide loss. From providing technical assistance to organizations and communities to referring loved ones to bereavement resources, the team is dedicated to helping survivors navigate the experience of grief after the loss of someone to suicide.
Safe & Secure is a pilot project that promotes responsible firearm storage to reduce the risk of accidental or intentional injury & death. Partnering with firearm owners, retailers, ranges, and communities, the project aims to protect our most valuable assets, the people we love, by using storage practices commonly supported by the firearm community.
Click here for more information about the Safe & Secure Project
Policies & Legislation
In order to provide the most effective care, the Suicide Prevention Program team works within Georgia DBHDD to develop policies to ensure individuals receive evidence-based treatment and support from providers statewide.
Georgia DBHDD Suicide Prevention, Screening, Brief Intervention, and Monitoring Policy, 01-118 (for Tier 1 Providers)
Georgia DBHDD Suicide Prevention, Screening, Brief Intervention and Monitoring for Tier 2 and Tier 2+ Providers, 01-126
In partnership with the Georgia Department of Education, the Suicide Prevention Team provided technical support to assist in the development and implementation of this bill. In 2015, Georgia was the 15th state to pass this act, which requires annual suicide prevention training for certified personnel and the adoption of a suicide prevention plan by each school system.
Jason Flatt Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-779.1)
Georgia Department of Education – Mental Health & Suicide Prevention
Evidence-based Suicide Prevention Programs for School Systems