Health

Local Suicides Drop

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office
Reading Time: 3 minutes

After several years of continued increases, the number of people who killed themselves in the San Diego region dropped for the first time last year.

According to the San Diego County Suicide Prevention Council’s 2015 Report to the Community released today, 21 fewer people killed themselves last year compared to 2013.

“The decline in the number of suicides is a glimmer of hope,” said Vice Chairman Dave Roberts, County Board of Supervisors. “It appears that our efforts to educate people about the warning signs of suicide and how to reach out for help are paying off. We hope that the number continues to drop until we have no suicides in San Diego County.”

The report provides a comprehensive look at suicide in the region and brings together data from multiple sources for the years 2010 through 2014.

Among the suicide report’s findings:

  • Total number of suicides dropped from 441 in 2013 to 420 last year
  • Emergency department discharges due to self-inflicted injury increased from 2,788 in 2012 to 2,870 in 2013
  • The number of crisis calls to the County’s Access and Crisis Line jumped from 17,635 to 20,267
  • Visits to It’s Up to Us, the County’s suicide prevention website, rose from 98,960 in 2013 to 134,574 last year
  • Number of students who seriously considered suicide declined from 20 percent in 2012 to 17.5 in 2014
  • Nearly 8,400 people participated in suicide prevention training; 2,015 of them in 2014

 

 

“People are reaching out and getting help and that is great news,” said Alfredo Aguirre, director of the County Health and Human Services Agency, Behavioral Health Services. “Preventing suicide and helping people get help for a mental illness are part of the County’s Live Well San Diego vision of healthy, safe and thriving residents and communities.”
To help curb suicide in San Diego, the County has several ongoing prevention efforts, including the It’s Up to Us campaign, the Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) trainings and the Access and Crisis Line,  a confidential counseling and referral hotline for people who feel overwhelmed or are experiencing a mental health crisis.
RELATED:        Help Is a Phone Call Away
Suicide can happen to anyone.  That is why it is important to learn the warning signs, risk factors and behavioral cues of people considering ending their lives.

 

For more information about suicide, risk factors, warning signs, how to get help, resources and training that is available, visit It’s Up to Us or call the County’s Access and Crisis Line at (888) 724-7240.

José A. Álvarez is a communications specialist with the County of San Diego Communications Office. Contact