SUICIDE DEATHS IN TENNESSEE SURPASSED 1,OOO-MARK IN 2013

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1 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2014 TSPN CALL to Action T E N N E S S E E S U I C I D E P R E V E N T I O N N E T W O R K SUICIDE DEATHS IN TENNESSEE SURPASSED 1,OOO-MARK IN 2013 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: V13ION 2 Columbia SOS Retreat 3 International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day 3 WHO Report 4 ACEs and Military Service TSPN Regional Calendar Advisory Council Contact Information PLUS PARK BOULEVARD, SUITE 201 NASHVILLE, TN PHONE: (615) FAX: (615) TSPN@TSPN.ORG Tennessee passed a grim milestone in 2013 the first year with more than 1,000 recorded suicide deaths. This combined with a sharp rise in the actual suicide rate suggests the need for a redoubling of efforts, particularly in rural parts of the state. TDOH s Office of Health Statistics reports there were 1,017 recorded suicide deaths in Tennessee in 2013, up from 956 the past year and marking the fourth consecutive year with an increase in raw numbers. The suicide rate rose from 14.8 per 100,000 population in 2012 to 15.7 in 2013, reversing a four-year trend of declining or steady rates. County Firearms remain the most common means of suicide death in Tennessee, accounting for 674, or 66%, of the recorded suicide deaths in % of the deaths (181) were hangings or suffocations and 12% of the deaths (125) were poisonings or overdoses. All these proportions are roughly the same as last year s figures. Whites account for 78% of the general population of Tennessee but 93% (950) of the suicide deaths. Males are also disproportionately represented, making up 49% of the population but 81% (822) of the suicide deaths recorded in The ten counties with the highest rates for last year and the ones with the highest five-year average are displayed in the charts accompanying this article. Number of recorded Suicide rate per 100,000 Region Pickett Upper Cumberland Lewis South Central Overton Upper Cumberland Hancock Northeast Stewart Mid-Cumberland McNairy Rural West Perry South Central White Upper Cumberland Houston Mid-Cumberland Above: the ten counties with the highest suicide rates for the year Below: the ten counties with the highest five-year ( ) average suicide rates. All figures courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Health. County Five-year average suicide rate Region Hancock 38.6 Northeast Stewart 35.9 Mid-Cumberland Henry 30.9 Rural West Jackson 30.0 Upper Cumberland Lewis 30.0 South Central Claiborne 29.4 Northeast Houston 28.7 Mid-Cumberland Perry 28.1 South Central White 27.9 Upper Cumberland McNairy 26.9 Rural West Three counties Haywood, Trousdale, and Van Buren have not had any suicide deaths reported since Trousdale County is of particular interest since deaths there have significantly declined since 2010, when it had the highest suicide rate of any county in Tennessee. For the record, the latest figures from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) give a national rate of 12.9 per 100,000 as of 2012, with Tennessee s rate that year (15.2 per 100,000) placing it at 20th among the states. Nationally, there were 40,600 suicide deaths in the U.S. in 2012, the latest year national data is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This comes out to suicide deaths each day and one death every 13 minutes. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and is responsible for 1.6% of all deaths recorded in Firearms were the leading mode of death, involved in 20,666 suicide deaths, or 51% of the total. The complete set of national figures and state rankings is available via the AAS website ( resources/facts-statistics). County suicide numbers and rates for the last ten years are available on the TSPN website, with subdivisions for sex, race, and select age groups (see Meanwhile, TSPN is planning to use these figures and others as a part of its annual Status of Suicide in Tennessee report, slated for release in January. Details about this report will be available in future editions of the TSPN Call to Action.

2 TSPN CALL TO ACTION V13ION MOTORCYCLE RALLY PLANNED FOR SEPTEMBER 2015 The Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network is partnering with local suicide prevention activist Chuck Lambert, his wife Dorothy, and Harley-Davidson dealerships across Tennessee to stage V13ION (pronounced vision ), a motorcycle rally planned for Labor Day Weekend For the last four years, Chuck has organized and hosted a ride at his business, Breezin Metal Works, in the southeastern part of the state to honor the memory of his son and raise awareness for suicide prevention. Chad Chubbs Lambert was an accomplished tattoo artist, motocross racer, and just starting to gain recognition for his paintings when he lost his life to suicide in I dream of him often, says Chuck, and my vision for him is to make sure no one has to feel the pain he felt before his death or the pain I feel every day since. Past events have involved 400 participants and raised funds that went directly to first responders for suicide prevention. This year, Chuck, Dorothy, the Jason Foundation, Inc., TSPN, and Harley-Davidson dealerships across Tennessee are joining forces to take our V13ION statewide: no more lives lost, no more hearts torn by suicide. The event will include a memorial ride for all Tennesseans that have lost their lives to suicide, with check-in stations at local Harley-Davidson dealerships each one offering information and resources about mental health and suicide prevention. Individual riders, as well as teams, will collect pledges ahead of the event, with a custom-built reverse-flow smoker with trailer awarded to the dealership that raises the most funds for suicide awareness and prevention. The number 13 is a unifying symbol for Chad and TSPN. Chad s favorite number, and his motocross racing number, was 13. Additionally, someone in the United States dies by suicide every 13 minutes on average, according to the latest figures from the American Association of Suicidology (see page 1). Additional information about this project, including how riders and teams can sign up and start collecting pledges, will be announced in coming months via the TSPN mailing list and the. To add your name to the mailing list, see the event page on our website ( Bottom left: Chuck Lambert (third from right), TSPN Executive Director Scott Ridgway (second from right) and others pose for a group photo at Boswell's Harley-Davidson in Nashville, having visited the shop to promote V13ION. Bottom center: a promotional poster for V13ION designed by Eve Nite. At right, second from bottom: TSPN Executive Director Scott Ridgway poses for a photo at Boswell's Harley-Davidson in Cookeville with Denise Dillon and Marketing Manager Tim Hartley. The other photos on the right and at the far bottom are from previous rallies organized by Chuck and Dorothy Lambert.

3 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE GATHER FOR COLUMBIA RETREAT The following report on the Survivors of Suicide retreat held in October was submitted by Karyl Chastain Beal, facilitator of the Parents of Suicides/ Families and Friends of Suicides support group. Chastain Beal is also Co-Chair of TSPN s Advisory Council. "The retreat was the most incredible experience I have ever had," wrote Tammy Prentice, mother of Morgan Prentice, from Memphis. Alissa Andrews, Joe Costal s sister, and Barbara Barr, Dennis Barr s wife, also attended the retreat, along with over a dozen people from all over the United States. The Fall Grief After Suicide retreat was held in Columbia, Tennessee in October Scheduled activities include a time for sharing photos, quilts, awards and stories, and sharing circles. There are also remembrance circles before meals held in the Butterfly Pavilion, lighted candles, and on Saturday night, the sacred Peace Fire. There is plenty of time to visit the moving International Suicide Memorial Wall, and to socialize, share informally, and relax. (There are even activities that get loud with laughter.) Guests at the retreat pose for a group photo after lunch at Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant in downtown Columbia (photo courtesy of Karyl Chastain Beal, seated at far left). Scott Ridgway of TSPN joined the group for lunch on Friday and welcomed them to Tennessee. He also shared information about TSPN and suicide prevention. He brought the newest Love Never Dies quilt to show them; there is a memorial square on this quilt for Dennis Barr. This retreat was the 33rd Grief After Suicide retreat Ronnie and Karyl Chastain Beal have held at their home. (The first few retreats were held in Pavo, Georgia before they moved to Tennessee in 2009.) People have attended the retreats from a variety of other states, and also from Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. According to Karyl, the first retreat held in July 2000 was a spontaneous week-end gathering of members of the Parents of Suicides group who were desperate to meet in person with others so they could talk out loud and know that others might understand. There were no plans, and there was no structure, but the bonding was so profound that at the end of the week-end, everyone said, We ll be back. INTERNATIONAL SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE LOSS DAY NOVEMBER 22 Survivors of suicide in Tennessee and across the globe will participate in viewing sessions for this year s Annual International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day broadcast, to be held on November 22. Each year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) hosts a panel discussion featuring experienced survivors and mental health professionals. The 90-minute program is broadcast via satellite to independently organized local conference sites. An Internet simulcast of the program will air on the AFSP website ( with a live online chat immediately following. The program will be available for free online viewing until November of next year. This year s gatherings will include a screening of AFSP s new documentary The Journey, which follows the grief and recovery tells the stories of a diverse group of suicide loss survivors. Currently events are scheduled in 46 states. Internationally, events are planned in Australia, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Singapore, South Africa, and Taiwan. Two events are scheduled within Tennessee. The Jared s Keepers Foundation, Inc., a newly established suicide prevention awareness group, is organizing Music City Survivors of Suicide Loss Day from 9 AM-2 PM at the Swang Building on the Lipscomb University, located at 1 University Park Drive in Nashville. Lunch is included and there is no charge for admission. More information is available from Kelsey Neeley at (615) or info@jaredskeepers.com. More information about the Foundation itself is available at the group's website ( Additionally, an event is scheduled for 11:00-2:30 PM at Germantown Church of Christ, located at 8723 Poplar Pike in Germantown. For more information, contact Tonia Howell at t.howell4afspmemphis@yahoo.com. For those who cannot attend a screening event, AFSP will be hosting a Google Hangout Q&A with fellow suicide loss survivors and experts on coping with suicide grief. It will include an online screening of The Journey. Registration for the Q&A is available at survivor-day-live. PAGE 3

4 TSPN CALL TO ACTION WHO ISSUES FIRST GLOBAL REPORT ON SUICIDE PREVENTION The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its first ever report on the problem of suicide. Preventing Suicide, A Global Imperative, released on September 3, outlines the toll suicide takes on a global level, discusses high-risk population groups, and offers recommendations on what individuals, governments, and global agencies can do to prevent suicide. WHO estimates that over 800,000 people die by suicide each year around the world the equivalent of one death every 40 seconds. Only 60 of the world s 196 countries have death registration data that effectively captures information about death by suicide. Only 28 have a viable national strategy for suicide prevention. (The United States is included in both categories.) Globally, the most common means of suicide death are pesticide poisoning (mostly in developing nations), hanging and firearms (of particular concern in the Americas). While suicide rates in general are highest among older adults, in some countries the highest rates are among young people. Internationally, suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged Men are more likely to die by suicide than women, by a ratio of three-to-one in wealthier nations. Young adults and older women in lower- and middle-income nations have higher suicide rates than those with high-incomes. In terms of prevention, WHO recommends limiting access to means of suicide death, based on studies from universities and research programs across the world. Other recommendations include the creation and implementation of a coordinated suicide prevention plan (e.g., the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention), as well as the earlier and improved treatment of mental health and substance abuse issues by public health agencies particularly follow-up care for survivors of recent suicide attempts. The report also pointed out the role of responsible and non-sensationalistic media coverage in educating the public about suicide risk. World governments can play a part by involving many different departments and agencies in suicide prevention efforts, especially health, education, employment, social work, and law enforcement agencies. The English-language version of Preventing Suicide, A Global Imperative is available at STUDY CONNECTS CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, MILITARY SERVICE Men who enlist in the armed forces may be bringing with them unresolved childhood issues that may culminate in suicides, suicide attempts, and other dysfunctional behaviors after they join up, according to a study recently published in JAMA Psychiatry. A team of researchers from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and three universities collaborated to analyze data from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which includes survey data from roughly 500,000 people in the U.S. They filtered the data according to the survey s adverse childhood experience (ACE) inventory and their history of military service. ACEs are proven predictors of physical and mental health issues in adulthood, including suicidal thoughts and behavior. In the 1990s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the concept of ACEs as part of ongoing studies of the relationship between childhood maltreatment and poor health and wellbeing in adulthood. The CDC identified ten events or circumstances in childhood that were risk factors for illness, early death, and poor quality of life. (See the inset for the complete list.) Male survey participants with military records were about twice as likely to report ACEs. This was especially the case among men who had enlisted in the armed forces as opposed to draftees the volunteers were twice as likely to report multiple ACEs as the general population. Little to no difference in ACEs was noted among male draftees or women regardless of military history. The results suggest that some men with unstable or difficult childhoods may use enlistment as an escape from their past, only to have these problems manifest in psychological issues in later life, while they are in the service. The citation for this study is as follows: Blosnich, J.R., et al. (2014). Disparities in adverse childhood experiences among individuals with a history of military service. JAMA Psychiatry 71(9): Adverse Childhood Experiences The following phenomena are classified by the CDC as adverse childhood experiences for the purposes of its research: physical abuse by a parent or other adult in the household verbal abuse by a parent or other adult in the household sexual abuse by a parent or other adult in the household physical neglect emotional neglect an alcoholic parent a mother who was a victim of domestic violence a family member in prison a family member diagnosed with a mental illness disappearance of a parent through death, divorce, or abandonment (Source: ACESTooHigh.com, a news site that reports on research related to ACEs) PAGE 4

5 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 TSPN REGIONAL CALENDAR No December meetings are scheduled unless otherwise marked. Dates marked in bold and in cranberry indicate alternate meeting dates intended to accommodate state holidays or other previously scheduled events. East Tennessee Region monthly, 3rd Thursday, 12:15 PM Third Floor Conference Room, Cherokee Health Systems, 2018 Western Avenue, Knoxville, November 20, January 15, February 19, March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, August 20, October 15, and November 19 Memphis/Shelby County Region monthly, 3rd Tuesday, 11:30 AM Memphis Crisis Centers Training Facility, 70 North Pauline, Memphis, November 18, January 20, February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18, October 20, and November 17 Mid-Cumberland Region monthly, 2nd Thursday, 9:30 AM Tennessee Voices for Children, 701 Bradford Avenue, November 13, December 11, January 8, February 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11, July 9, August 13, October 8, November 12, December 10 Northeast Region monthly, 4th Tuesday, 10:30 AM Boone s Creek Christian Church, 305 Christian Church Road, Gray, November 25 Rural West monthly, 3rd Wednesday, 10:30 AM Behavioral Health Initiatives, 36C Sandstone Circle, Jackson, November 19 South Central monthly, 1st Wednesday, 11:00 AM Conference Room A, South Central Regional Health Office, 1216 Trotwood Avenue, Columbia, November 5 and December 3 TSPN's Upper Cumberland Region set up an exhibit at the Upper Cumberland Senior Expo on October 23. Pictured from left to right: TSPN intern Meghan Harless, Jeremy Fleenor, Lena Higgins, and TSPN Member Emeritus Jodi Bartlett (photo courtesy of Anne Stamps). Southeast Region monthly, 1st Thursday, 10:00 AM Johnson Mental Health Center, 420 Bell Avenue, Chattanooga, November 6, December 4, and January 8 Upper Cumberland Region monthly, 4th Thursday, 9:00 AM Volunteer Behavioral Health, 1200 Willow Avenue, Cookeville, October 16, November 20, and December 18 Intra-State Department Meetings 2 PM Third Floor Conference Room, Centerstone, 1101 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, November 12 Advisory Council February 11 (Community Room, Metro Nashville Police Department Hermitage Precinct, 3701 James Kay Lane, Hermitage, (10:30 AM) Blount County Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Alliance monthly, 1st Friday, 12:00 PM Boys and Girls Club Meeting Room, Fort Craig Elementary School, 520 South Washington Street, Maryville, November 7 and December 5 Davidson County Suicide Prevention Task Force Monthly, 4th Wednesday, 3:00 PM Metro Public Health Department, 2500 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, To be announced This map, showing 2012 suicide rates per 100,000 by country, is included in Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative (see page 3). Giles County Suicide Prevention Task Force quarterly, 3rd Monday, 11:00 AM Giles County Career Center, 125 South Cedar Lane, Pulaski, November 17, February 2, May 4, August 3, and November 2 Hickman-Perry County Suicide Prevention Task Force monthly, 4th Friday, 1:30 PM Senior Care Building, Hickman Community Hospital, 135 East Swan Street, Centerville, November 21 Montgomery-Houston-Humphreys-Stewart Suicide Prevention Task Force monthly, 1st Tuesday, 9 AM Youth Villages, 651 Stowe Court, Clarksville, November 4, December 9, January 6, February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, October 6, November 3, and December 1 Rutherford County Suicide Prevention Coalition monthly, 1st Tuesday, 6 PM TrustPoint Hospital, 1009 North Thompson Lane, Murfreesboro, November 4 and December 2 PAGE 5

6 ADVISORY COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION If you are interested in getting involved with TSPN on a local level or have other questions, contact the chairperson of your region as indicated by the map provided below: East Tennessee region Anne Young, MS, CAS (865) anneyoung@cornerstoneofrecovery.com Memphis and Shelby County Waring Porter (901) wporter@allsaintspres.com Mid-Cumberland region Christen Thorpe, MS, CRC, CATSM (615) , extension 70 christen.thorpe@gmail.com Northeast region Harold Leonard, MA, LPC-MHSP (423) hleonard@centurylink.net Rural West region Sabrina Anderson (731) sanderson@bgcjmc.org South Central region Karyl Chastain Beal, MEd, CT (931) karylcb@bellsouth.net Southeast region Eve Nite (423) enite@mhc-tn.org Upper Cumberland region Anne Stamps (931) or jstamps@vbhcs.org Advisory Council Chair Tim Tatum, MA, LPC-MHSP (423) timtatumlpc@gmail.com Executive Director Scott Ridgway, MS (615) sridgway@tspn.org Advisory Council Emeritus Group Chair Jodi Bartlett, Ed. S, LPC-MHSP (931) or (931) , ext. 166 jbartlett@vbhcs.org Lake Lauderdale Obion Henry Weakley Dyer Gibson Carroll Crockett Haywood Madison Tipton Chester Henderson Benton Decatur Stewart Houston Humphreys Perry Montgomery Dickson Hickman Lewis Cheatham Maury Robertson Davidson Williamson Marshall Macon Sumner Clay Pickett Scott Claiborne Hancock Campbell Fentress Hawkins Trousdale Jackson Overton Union Smith Wilson Rutherford Bedford Cannon Putnam Morgan De Kalb Cumberland White Roane Warren Van Buren Rhea Coffee Monroe Grundy McMinn Sequatchie Bledsoe Meigs Anderson Grainger Hamblen Jefferson Knox Cocke Sevier Loudon Blount Greene Washington Unicoi Sullivan Carter Johnson Shelby Fayette Hardeman McNairy Hardin Wayne Lawrence Giles Lincoln Moore Franklin Marion Hamilton Bradley Polk