2019 Awareness Day Final Report 2019_ADay_FinaReport_FINAL_pages | Page 3

“Suicide is a complex problem, and it is going to take
the work of many to help our youth have lives of
hope with a sense of purpose and connectedness.”
— DR. ANITA EVERETT, Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services
Each year, SAMHSA’s Awareness Day event takes place in Washington, DC, to
complement local activities. For the 2019 event, SAMHSA framed the observance
around a public health crisis that affects people of all ages and from all walks
of life: suicide. While this crisis is not a new development, it is affecting young
people in devastating ways. Young adults ages 18 to 25 exhibit the highest rates
of suicidal thoughts and attempts of any age group.
Part of SAMHSA’s strategic plan for 2019 to 2023 is to “foster the agency’s
Zero Suicide efforts by promoting comprehensive suicide prevention efforts in
health and mental health and substance use disorder systems.” Awareness Day
provided the perfect opportunity to bring national collaborating organizations,
system of care communities, young adults, mental health and substance use
experts, and federal officials working on suicide prevention together around the
theme “Suicide Prevention: Strategies That Work.”
With a focus on how federal agencies are collaborating to respond to this crisis,
the event concentrated on evidence-based approaches and resources for suicide
prevention that can save lives and connect those in need to help. The event also
showcased how local efforts such as systems of care intersect with these federal
initiatives.
Hosted by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Director Dr. Anita
Everett, SAMHSA’s Awareness Day event took place on May 6, 2019, at the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Hubert H. Humphrey Building
in Washington, DC, reinforcing the observance’s federal focus. Included among
the in-person audience of 100 (with a virtual audience of nearly 800) were state
agency personnel; primary care and mental health care providers; child-serving
professionals; and families, youth, and young adults.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH
THE ON-DEMAND WEBCAST
OF THE NATIONAL EVENT
SUICIDAL THOUGHTS
SAMHSA’s 2017 National Survey
on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
showed that young adults ages
18- 25
had the highest rates of suicidal
thoughts and attempts of any
age group.
SUICIDE PREVENTION: STRATEGIES THAT WORK
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