Rhode Island Awarded $915K From CDC For Suicide Prevention Work

RHODE ISLAND — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $915,000 in federal funding to develop a suicide prevention program for higher-risk populations, Gov. Dan McKee said Tuesday.

For the initiative, the Rhode Island Department of Health's Violence and Injury Prevention Program will convene a new multi-sector partnership, including partners across the RI Executive Office of Health and Human Services. State officials said it would focus on suicide prevention amongst working-aged men (25 to 64), military-affiliated individuals (veterans, active duty, National Guard), and first responders (public safety officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel) who are 18 or older.

Suicide is a public health crisis in Rhode Island and across the United States. In 2021, 121 people died by suicide in Rhode Island, up from 99 suicide deaths in 2020, state officials said. From 2012-2021, Rhode Island averaged 120 suicides per year.

Suicide deaths are more likely to be seen among men and middle-aged adults, according to CDC data. In 2019, deaths of working-age men (ages 25-64) accounted for almost 60 percent of all suicides in Rhode Island.

"Here in Rhode Island, we recognize that suicide is a public health crisis, and it's on all of us to be part of the solution," McKee said. "This coordinated program is data-driven and unites state agencies to ensure this critical work is done across the whole of government."

State officials said the program will also strengthen data and service infrastructure to better understand and address differences in suicide risk among Rhode Islanders. For example, some numerically small populations in Rhode Island — such as LGBTQ+ people, Native Americans, people who are survivors of previous suicide attempts; people who are homeless, and people who are survivors of domestic violence have disproportionately high rates of suicide, according to the CDC.

State officials said Rhode Island will continue to focus on reducing access to lethal means as a way to lower suicide deaths. In Rhode Island, rates of gun-related suicides among working-age men increased by more than 12 percent from the period of 2010-2014 to 2015-2019. Additionally, intentional drug overdose deaths, or suicides by drug poisoning, remain a concern.

This new funding is in addition to the $750,000 Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox (SSG Fox) Suicide Prevention grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that the Rhode Island Department of Health recently received.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.