News Releases for December 2005
December 23, 2005
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Hoeven: North Dakota Adolescent Suicide Prevention Project Receives National Recognition
State Sustains 35 Percent Reduction in Suicide Fatalities Among Young People
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today announced that the North Dakota Adolescent Suicide Prevention Project has received the 2005 Public Health Practice Award from the American Public Health Association. The award recognizes the project’s innovative and creative public health approaches and its role in a sustained 35 percent reduction in the number of suicide fatalities among young North Dakotans.
“The Mental Health Association in North Dakota and the state Department of Health have worked hard to promote adolescent suicide prevention across the state, and now are seeing the results of those efforts,” Hoeven said. “By reaching out to our youth, schools and communities, this partnership is making a real difference for our young people and ensuring that they will be an important part of North Dakota’s future.”
Over the past five years, North Dakota has sustained a 35 percent reduction in suicide fatalities among young people between the ages of 10 and 24, compared to the ten-year average in the 1990s, according to Hoeven. In addition, the North Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey, comparing the years 1999 and 2003, shows a 29 percent reduction in teens having seriously thought about suicide, a 20 percent reduction in teens having made a suicide plan, and a 20 percent reduction in teens having made suicide attempts that required medical attention.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children in our state,” said Dr. Terry Dwelle, state health officer. “That is why it is so important for the Suicide Prevention Project and other organizations across North Dakota to continue their efforts to reduce the number of suicide fatalities among our young people.”
The North Dakota Adolescent Suicide Prevention Project works closely with the North Dakota Suicide Prevention Task Force and several tribal and rural partners throughout the state. Since its inception in 2000, more than 40,000 North Dakotans have been trained in suicide prevention strategies, including 7,000 teen leaders, 8,000 professionals and 1,500 faith-based partners.
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