Suicide Prevention Coalition

State Resources:

The Maryland Department of Health Suicide Prevention Program provides information about MDMINDHEALTH that provides support to individuals via text messages, increasing awareness of suicide and improving preparedness to prevent suicide. For further information, visit: https://health.maryland.gov/bha/suicideprevention/Pages/home.aspx

Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention was created to strengthen and coordinate the state’s suicide prevention, Postvention services and intervention. For further information, commission meetings and to view the Commission Suicide Prevention Plans, visit: https://health.maryland.gov/bha/suicideprevention/Pages/governor's-commission-on-suicide-prevention.aspx

The Maryland Suicide Prevention Resource Center provides information about suicide, effective prevention, training, news and an online library. For further information, visit: sprc.org/states/maryland

The Mental Health Association of Maryland provides information on how to get help, how to get involved and further information about the Mental Health Association including events, history and publications. For further information, visit: mhamd.org/

Maryland’s State Suicide Prevention Plan 2020 provides information on trends, data, background and goals/objectives of the plan. For further information, visit: https://health.maryland.gov/bha/suicideprevention/Documents/2020%20Maryland%20State%20Suicide%20Prevention%20Plan.pdf 

The Maryland Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO) Law provides information on what ERPO is, what it can/cannot do, how to apply for ERPO and answers other Q&A’s regarding ERPO. For further information, visit:  mdcourts.gov/district/ERPO

The Maryland Safe Firearm Storage Map provides information on out-of-home temporary, voluntary firearm storage to include the map of locations within Maryland and further information on when and how to access safe storage locations.  For further information, visit: mdpgv.org/safestoragemap

The Maryland Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in Schools K-12 (MAPS) aims to equip K-12 public and private school communities with the necessary tools for effective suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. MAPS provides evidence-based resources tailored for school administrators, mental health professionals, teachers, students, and caregivers. Read more about MAPS here

National Resources:

The Mental Health Association provides specific support for LGBTQ+ individuals at https://mhanational.org/lgbtq/pride

The Center for Disease Control provides data/facts regarding suicide, information on where to get help and prevention strategies for suicide prevention. For further information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/index.html

The National Institute for Mental Health provides an oversight of suicide, warning signs of suicide, risk factors of suicide, treatment and therapies, ongoing research and where to get help if you or someone you know is in crisis. To connect further with NIH, visit https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention

The American Association of Suicidology provides information regarding crisis resources, media and resources. For further information visit suicidology.org

The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention provides ways to get help, how to get involved in suicide prevention, facts about suicide and real stories. For further information visit afsp.org

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is active across the United States. To obtain further information on how to connect with the Lifeline by calling, texting or chatting 988 when experiencing a crisis or the features of the 988 Lifeline, visit 988Lifeline.org

The Crisis Text Line provides ways to connect (text, chat or WhatsApp) with a volunteer Crisis Counselor 24/7. To be connected visit crisistextline.org  or text HOME to 741741. 

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Mental Health, Suicide Prevention Workgroup provides an oversight of the workgroup and ways to get connected. Visit  https://www.jhsph.edu/departments/mental-health/centers/suicide-prevention/ for further information about the Suicide Prevention Workgroup. 

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) provides support and education surrounding those affected by mental illness of any age and background. For further information visit nami.org

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) provides ways to get help for yourself or someone you know and information about suicide, warning signs of suicide and who is at risk of suicide. For further information visit, samhsa.gov/suicide

Media and online coverage of suicide should be informed by using best practices. Some suicide deaths may be newsworthy. However, the way media cover suicide can influence behavior negatively by contributing to contagion or positively by encouraging help-seeking. Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide