Idaho has received a 3.6 million dollar federal grant to expand youth suicide prevention efforts across the state. According to the Jefferson Star, the Garrett Lee Smith grant will allow the Idaho State Department of Education to expand its Sources of Strength program to include trained behavioral health case managers and peer-to-peer groups for survivors of suicide attempts. Program goals include prevention, early intervention, assessment, referral, and follow-up across the Gem State to address the needs of public school students and young adults. The program will be expanded to 10 schools per year for five years, beginning next fall, and the department says all schools can apply. Idaho consistently has among the highest suicide rates in the country. In 2017, the state had the fifth-highest suicide rate at 22-point-9 per 100-thousand residents, well above the national rate of 14-point-5. In the 2019 Idaho Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 22 percent of student respondents said they had seriously considered attempting suicide, while 39 percent of students reported feeling sad or hopeless – more than at any time in the past decade. (Jefferson Star)
