by Kevin Caruso

Note: The Suicide.org School Suicide Prevention Guide is suitable for grammar school, high school, and college.

For groups, organizations, police departments, fire departments, the military, or any other organization, please click below for a free Suicide.org suicide prevention for you:

FREE non-school Suicide.org Suicide Prevention Program

For schools, I recommend that you start the suicide prevention program with 7th graders.

Your school should implement a suicide prevention program as soon as possible. Please follow the steps below for immediate implementation of the Suicide.org School Suicide Prevention Program. If you are a teacher or a student, please raise this issue of the free Suicide.org Suicide Prevention Program with your principal immediately. And remember, every second that you delay implementing a suicide prevention program means that a student who needs help does not get it. Again, please start your suicide prevention program immediately.

Much of the work is already done for you. All of the materials that you will need for the Suicide.org Suicide Prevention Program are on this website, and they are free.

And an outline of the suicide prevention program is shown below.

Please take action now. Please prevent suicide now.

Please start a suicide prevention program now.

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Teachers and administrators -- What you need to do:

First, schedule a teacher meeting to brief all of the teachers on the suicide prevention program.

Next, schedule suicide prevention meetings with the students. The best way to conduct the suicide prevention meetings is with small groups of students in individual classrooms.

The sole focus of the meetings will be to discuss suicide prevention -- make sure the dialogue stays on topic.

Prepare handouts to give to students. Make copies of the pages of this website to give as handouts to students. (There is no charge for using the pages of this website for a suicide prevention guide for noncommercial, nonprofit purposes.)

Please note that all of the pages on Suicide.org are copyrighted by Kevin Caruso and Suicide.org and thus all handouts need to clearly display the following copyright notice (verbatim):

Reprinted with permission from Suicide.org (http://www.Suicide.org). Written by Kevin Caruso. Copyright Kevin Caruso. All Rights Reserved

The suggested page order for the suicide prevention guide is:

Suicide.org Home Page

Suicide Warning Signs

Suicide Causes

Suicide FAQs

Depression and Suicide

Bipolar Disorder and Suicide

Schizophrenia and Suicide

Suicide Myths

Stigma and Suicide

Suicide Statistics

Teen Suicide and Youth Suicide

Suicide Can Never Be a Secret

Bullying and Suicide

Elderly Suicide

How to Help a Suicidal Person

How to Talk to a Suicidal Caller

What Should I do After a Suicide

Suicide Hotlines

(note: copy suicide hotline numbers for your area only)

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But please feel free to use any pages that you want, in whatever order that you want. Do what works best for you.

After handing out the pages, the best way to start the suicide prevention meeting is to ask the students what they know about suicide and suicide prevention. Listen closely to the responses, and encourage open discussion.

Next, go through the pages one at a time. Talk about the warning signs, causes, statistics, etc. Encourage questions.

Emphasize what the students need to do if they ever become depressed or suicidal or know someone who becomes depressed or suicidal-that they need to get help immediately.

And emphasize that untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide.

Before the meeting concludes, let the students know that they can talk with any teacher at any time if they become depressed or suicidal.

Let the students know that is is ALWAYS okay to ask for help if they are suicidal or if they know someone who is suicidal.

Keep a copy of selected pages of the website posted in a conspicuous place so all students can easily refer to the information. Let the students know where the pages will be posted. Suicide prevention never ends!

And let the students know that they can access this information 24 hours a day at Suicide.org (http://www.Suicide.org).

Encourage an ongoing, open dialogue about suicide and suicide prevention.

Suicide prevention is extremely important, and every school should have an ongoing suicide prevention program.

Suicide prevention meetings with the students as outlined above should occur at least once a year, but preferably twice a year.

Teachers should always be looking out for students who appear depressed and/or suicidal, and should sensitively approach any such students and ask how they are doing. Invite them for a private talk and allow them to express themselves completely. If it appears that the students are depressed, encourage them to get help. If it is part of your school policy to call the parents, then do so immediately. And if any of the students are suicidal, you must ensure that they get immediate treatment. Call the parents immediately and work with them to make sure that the students receive the help they need.

Then follow up with the students on a regular basis by asking how they are doing. Let them know that they can come to you at any time and talk with you.

And all teachers and administrators should discuss suicide prevention regularly at faculty meetings.

So, please implement a suicide prevention program now. Suicide prevention is always urgent.

Please take action now. Please prevent suicide now.

Please start a suicide prevention program now!

Thank you,

Kevin Caruso