State agencies convene to discuss suicide prevention

January 10, 2010

Brenda Moore, the chair of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, says young Native men have the highest suicide rates in Alaska. (Daniel Hernandez/KTUU-DT)

by Christine Kim
Sunday, January 10, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Suicide accounts for two-thirds of all violent deaths in Alaska, and for the first time state agencies will hold a three-day statewide suicide prevention summit.

The summit will begin Monday at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Representatives from the agencies will identify gaps in the network of prevention programs and try to strengthen them.

Brenda Moore, the chair of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council says in the Lower 48 seniors have the highest suicide rates, but in Alaska it's the 19-to-29 age group -- and specifically young Native men.

"It's almost a fact of life, you know, and we've just got to work to change that," Moore said. "Because it's not, it's -- we're just losing too many of our young men to suicide."

In the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, more than 8 percent of Alaska's high school students reported attempting suicide. The surveys also report nearly 28 percent had been in a physical fight in the past year. It's a trend the Covenant House sees as well.

"We are seeing a huge increase in the number of kids who are victims to gang beatings and gang attacks," said Covenant House's Lauren Rice. "They'll come in with broken ribs, bruises, black eyes, and the way that they begin to cope with it is hang out in groups when they're not in the shelter. There's safety in numbers, but there has been an increase in violence on the streets."

The summit will continue until Wednesday. It is not open to the public.

Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com

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