North Central Health Services awarded more than one million dollars in grants to local school corporations to support suicide prevention programs. The Preventing Youth Suicide Initiative grant will include training, planning, implementing and sustaining suicide prevention efforts for all students and will be developed over the next two years.

TSC’s Mental Health Liaison Megan Ulrich says the program will enhance the corporation’s existing framework to increase support and resources for families. “According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34,” says Ulrich. “Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate of need for mental health services has increased. This grant provides the TSC the opportunity to address this issue head on by integrating evidence-based training and program implementation for our most valuable stakeholders.”

The initiative will include awareness training on the specific signs of suicide, how to intervene, and/or programs that include peer engagement and help-seeking skills.