• New York State HOPEline: New York State’s 24-hour, confidential gambling and chemical dependency hotline offered in 7 languages. Offers support, information, and referrals. Call 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: A 24-hour hotline that provides safety planning, support, and resources for survivors of abuse and concerned friends or family members. Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) (TTY): 1-800-787-3224 Text START to 88788 or chat on their website
• Child Help USA National Child Abuse Hotline: 24-hour hotline to provide multilingual crisis intervention and professional counseling on child abuse to parents, teens, children, survivors and concerned friends or family. Call or text 800-4-A-CHILD (800-422-4453) TTY 800-222-4453, or chat on their website.
• National Human Trafficking Hotline: A 24-hour, toll-free hotline to speak with a specially trained Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocate. Support is provided in more than 200 languages. Call 1-888-373-7888 Text 233733 or chat on their website
• The Trevor Project: A 24-hour hotline that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning young people (LGBTQI) ages 13-24. Call 1-866-488-7386, text 678678, or chat on their website.
• Trans Lifeline: Grassroots, trans-led hotline offering direct emotional and financial support and resources to transgender people in crisis Call 1-877-565-8860
• BlackLine: A space for peer support and crisis counseling for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), Femmes, and the LGBTQI community. Call or text 1-800-604-5841

• Know the warning signs and risk factors for suicide. Order or download free educational materials to distribute to your community and staff here.
• Connect individuals experiencing a suicidal or mental health crisis to crisis services as an alternative to calling 911 such as a mobile crisis team. Find your local crisis center here.
• When working with groups and communities create cohesive diverse plans. Be intentional about creating interventions addressing racial equity and impact of stigma in suicide prevention.
• Incorporate trauma informed care and emotional health awareness into organizational policies and culture.
• Offer trainings to your staff on how to identify suicide risk in patients or clients and respond to individuals in crisis.
• Establish partnerships with emergency departments to identify and coordinate a structured follow-up plan with patients at high risk. Brief interventions like safety planning and non-demand caring contacts are tied to lower repeat suicide attempts for patients who had attempted or considered suicide.
• Work to integrate suicide prevention into overdose prevention programming by screening and assessing for suicide risk during aftercare, safety planning and care transitions.
• Get involved in suicide prevention in your community by raising awareness or volunteering.

The integration and coordination of prevention activities across sectors and settings is critical for expanding the reach and impact of suicide prevention efforts. NYSDOH is working to support local government entities to establish policies and practices that Create Protective Environments, as a part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention.

Work with partners in harm reduction and substance abuse treatment, diverse stakeholders, people with lived experience and their loved ones, health care providers, public safety and first responders to create an integrated approach to suicide intervention and prevention in your community.

Communicate

Communication can be a powerful tool to promote resiliency, encourage help-seeking behaviors, share success stories, and help prevent suicide. Language matters when discussing suicide and mental health. When raising suicide prevention awareness or approaching someone who may be crisis, please consider the following:

• Using “people first” language can reduce the chances of stigmatizing, dehumanizing or causing unintentional harm to the communities we serve.
• Suicide is preventable. If you suspect someone may be in crisis or considering suicide, use these steps to guide conversation, keep them safe, and connect them to care.
• Ensure that your messaging is safe, positive, strategic, and prevention focused.
• Avoid using sensational terms such as “skyrocketing”, “devastating” or “sufferers” when describing suicidality.
• Explore the CDC Framing Guide For Communicating About Injury for more information on framing and message development techniques for injury programs and partners.

Suicide prevention efforts are more likely to succeed if they are guided by the best evidence available.

As part of a strategic planning approach, use data and the best available scientific evidence to inform and refine suicide prevention and response efforts. Studies show that the risk of a suicide attempt or death is highest within 30 days of discharge from an ED or inpatient psychiatric unit in patients who had attempted or considered suicide

Data Resources

• 2023 New York State (Excluding New York City) Nonfatal Suicide-Related Syndromic Surveillance Annual Data Brief
• 2022 Annual Brief: NYS (Excluding New York City) Emergency Department Surveillance of Nonfatal Suicide-Related Outcomes
• Self-Inflicted Injuries and Suicides in New York State
• Deaths, Hospitalizations, and Emergency Department Visits
• Incidence of Suicide
• Incidence of Self-Inflicted Injury Hospitalizations
• Incidence of Self-Inflicted Injury Emergency Department
• Incidence of Suicide/Self-Inflicted Injuries Deaths, Hospitalizations, and Emergency Department

• New York State Health Connector: Suicides and Self-Harm in New York State Dashboard
• New York Violent Death Reporting System (NYVDRS)
• Suicide Prevention Center of New York (SPC-NY)
• Community Health Indicator Reports

• New York State Office of Drug User Health
• New York State Office of Mental Health
• New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
• New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports
• Deaths of Despair: How Connecting Opioid Data Extends the Possibilities for Suicide Research
• Prevention Agenda
• New York State Prevention Agenda Dashboard - See Promote Mental Health and Prevent Substance Abuse section.
• NYS Suicide Prevention Task Force Report