Suicide-prevention program receives $480,000 grant

WARWICK – The R.I. Youth Suicide Prevention Project has been awarded a three-year, $480,000 federal grant to implement suicide prevention programs in community organizations and public schools throughout the state, the R.I. Student Assistance Services announced on Aug. 3.
The grant will provide the necessary resources to identify and refer at-risk youth; it will also support the launch of a media campaign to help educate adults about warning signs and how best to respond.
The prevention project currently operates in six communities, but will soon offer technical assistance to the R.I. National Guard and the state’s Veterans Administration in an effort to reach military personnel and their families.
“We are so pleased to be funded to continue this important prevention and awareness work for another three years,” said Sarah Dinklage, LICSW, executive director of R.I. Student Assistance Services, whose agency, in partnership with the R.I. Department of Health, will manage the grant. To date, the program has trained about 2,000 adult and peer gatekeepers in schools and community-based organizations to recognize the warning signs of suicide in youth and how to get help.”
“Many young people who [die by suicide] have a treatable mental illness, but they don’t get the help they need,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, who is leading a bipartisan legislative effort to reauthorize the program in the Senate. “This grant will provide critical resources for prevention and outreach efforts in Rhode Island to help reach at-risk youth before it is too late.”