School personnel suicide prevention training: No clear option

Youth and young adult deaths from suicide have been increasing in the United States over the past two decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics for those between the ages of 10 and 24 from 2011 to 2021 the death by suicide rate rose 60% to 11.0 per 100,000. Paralleling these highly troubling rates of death by suicide is information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report: 2011–2021. The report reinforces a picture of our nation's youth in serious mental health crisis. In response to the 2021 survey an increasing number of students reported persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. This included 57% of girls, 29% of boys and 69% of LGBTQ students. More than 20% of teens reported having seriously considered suicide!