Suicide Prevention
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As is required by the state of Connecticut, TTYSB must address Juvenile Justice, Crisis Intervention, Child Welfare, Mental Health, Positive Youth Development, and Recreation/Culture.
Help is available
Suicide is a complex subject. If you or a loved one’s life is in immediate danger, don’t hesitate to call 911. By calling 911, you can get emergency treatment to get you through the critical stage of a mental health crisis. An effective treatment can then be sought afterwards to properly treat over the long term.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and need to talk or want to find local resources call 988 or 211. 211 will connect you to a caseworker who will assist you in getting the help you need. You can review other resource available in Connecticut here.
Words matter! When talking about suicide make a conscious effort to use sensitive and appropriate terminology.
| Instead of this | Say This | Why |
| commit/committed suicide | died by suicide/death by suicide/lost their life to suicide | “commit” implies suicide is a sin or crime, reinforcing the stigma that it’s a selfish act and a personal choice. Using neutral phrasing like “died by suicide” helps strip away the shame/blame element. |
|
successful/unsuccessful suicide completed/failed suicide |
died by suicide/survived a suicide attempt/live through a suicide attempt fatal suicidal behavior/non-fatal suicidal behavior fatal suicide attempt/non-fatal suicide attempt | The notion of a “successful” suicide is inappropriate because it frames a very tragic outcome as an achievement or something positive to be matter-of-fact, a suicide attempt is either fatal is or not. |
| epidemic/skyrocketing | rising/increasing | words like “epidemic”can spark panic, making suicide seem inevitable or more common than it is. By using purely quantitative, less emotionally charged terms like “rising”, we can avoid instilling a sense of doom or hopelessness. |
| is suicidal | is facing suicide/is thinking of suicide/has suffered through suicidal thought/has experienced suicidal thoughts | We don’t want to define someone by their experience with suicide; they are more than their suicidal thoughts |
| he’s suicidal/they’re a schizophrenic/she’s bipolar/ mentally ill/ addicts | he is facing suicide/thinking of suicide/experiencing suicidal thoughts they have schizophrenia/are living with schizophrenia people with mental illness/people addicted to/people with addiction | Putting the condition before the person reduces someone’s identity to their diagnosis-people aren’t their illness; they have an illness. People-first language shows respect for the individual, reinforcing the fact that their condition does not define them. |
Tri-Town Youth Services Bureau
56 High Street
Deep River, CT 06417