Community Action Toolkit: Introduction
If you are visiting the Community Toolkit page, there’s likely been a recent youth suicide in your community. Perhaps you are connected to the family or friends of a young person who took their own life.
If you are a survivor, grief experts suggest that you wait at least six months before you take on prevention work, to allow enough time for processing your loss.
All who are touched by suicide experience a wide range of different emotions, yet all ask the same question: WHY? Could anything have been done to prevent this? What can we do to help other young people who may be at risk?
We do know that there are warning signs we can watch for, and steps we can take to help prevent a youth suicide from occurring. If more people knew the facts, it could make a big difference in preventing youth suicide.
This is where you come in. Your experience can be transformed into a positive force — the motivation to do what you can to prevent it from happening again.
Community groups — networks, task forces, and grassroots organizations — are an essential part of suicide prevention. The U.S. Surgeon General and other agencies promote community efforts as a key factor in suicide prevention. It’s time to act.
At YSPP, we applaud you for taking the time to address the issue in your own backyard. This Toolkit offers practical tips and hands-on worksheets to make it easier to get involved and stay active. We are available if you need further assistance.
Download the full Introduction to the Toolkit (pdf, 238k), including a table of contents.
*The Toolkit contains 4 chapters:
- Get Organized. (pdf, 354k)
- Get Educated. (pdf, 795k)
- Get Active. (pdf, 1mb)
- Stay Active. (pdf, 332k)
Washington State citizen groups or task forces may request a printed copy from YSPP.
Out-of-state residents or groups may purchase a copy from YSPP.
* We are out of stock of the Community Action Toolkit until further notice. You are welcome to download and print the content from the files provided above.
