A new nationwide study is shedding new light on suicide and suicide prevention.
Published June 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) study analyzed data collected by states on deaths from 1999-2016. Kansas had a 45% increase in completed suicides during that 17-year span. Beacon for Hope Executive Director Melissa Kurtenbach:
The National Violent Death Reporting System in 2015 said of 27 reporting states including Kansas, 54 percent of suicides were completed by people who did not have a history of mental illness. Firearms were the most common and most consistently successful method of suicide, so Kurtenbach says in moments of crisis it is best to have firearms secured at home.
Kansas ranked 19th overall in the number of suicides, but had the fifth highest rate of increase in suicides, following North Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Utah. You can read the full results here.
The study was released the same week world-renowned fashion designer Kate Spade and food critic Anthony Bourdain both committed suicide.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call locally to Beacon for Hope at 208-9926 or Crosswinds Counseling & Wellness 24 hour crisis numbers at 343-2211 or 800-279-3645. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255, text anonymously at 741741, or call 911 for assistance in emergency situations.
Melissa Kurtenbach will appear on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia at 11:06 a.m. Friday with more information on suicide prevention.
