CDC Grant for Suicide Prevention Announced
The State of Connecticut has been awarded a five-year grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to enhance a range of suicide prevention activities coordinated among several state agencies. The grant, awarded to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), will run through August 31, 2025 and will be a joint effort between DPH, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), and UConn Health.
While the grant will work to prevent suicide across all age ranges, it will focus on several populations in Connecticut that are being disproportionately impacted by suicide or attempted suicide, including middle-aged adults (ages 35-65), men in particular, with serious mental illness or substance use disorder; and adolescents and young adults (ages 10-24).
Connecticut has one of the lowest rates of suicide in the United States at 10.5 deaths per 100,000 people, and is ranked 45th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. On average, 403 Connecticut residents died annually of suicide between 2015 and 2019, which is a 14 percent increase from the annual average of 351 residents between 2010 and 2014. In 2018, the CDC reported that more than 48,000 people died by suicide in the United States. The unique stigma and shame associated with suicide keeps people from getting the support they need to prevent it or address their grief when they have experienced a loss. Additionally, the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic both have significantly increased individuals’ risk of suicide due to the exacerbation of shared risk factors.
The grant will also provide linkage to the Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board, the statewide suicide prevention coalition tri-chaired by DMHAS, DCF, and the Connecticut Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The board is a statewide coalition comprised of multiple state and community providers, schools, researchers, and survivors of suicide focused on preventing suicide and providing support to survivors of suicide death and attempts statewide. It serves as the state’s coordinating body for suicide prevention efforts and recently released its Suicide Prevention Plan 2025 (PLAN 2025), which serves as the blueprint for the state’s suicide prevention efforts for the next five years. The plan is available at www.preventsuicidect.org/preventionplan.
For more information regarding suicide prevention or if you or someone you know is in crisis, call 2-1-1 or visit www.preventsuicidect.org.