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The Stay program combines strategies to both detect and intervene to reduce the risk of suicide behavior, suicide ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSI). The Stay Programs strategies are designed to enhance the implementation of interventions, enhance future uptake in diverse settings, and thereby reduce risk of suicide and self-harm in the population.
The Stay program uses a modified set of Alcoholics Anonymous Steps and Traditions in its program. While the Stay Program’s Virtues and Praxis were inspired by the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, they are not a typical adaptation. Rather, they were created specifically for this Program, and should not be construed otherwise. A.A., which is a program concerned only with recovery from alcoholism, and is not in any way affiliated with this Program.
The Stay program uses a modified set of Alcoholics Anonymous Steps and Traditions in its program. While the Stay Program’s Virtues and Praxis were inspired by the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, they are not a typical adaptation. Rather, they were created specifically for this Program, and should not be construed otherwise. A.A., which is a program concerned only with recovery from alcoholism, and is not in any way affiliated with this Program.
Part One
We will first be implementing our program as Alcoholics Anonymous does by utilizing free spaces for our meetings. We are currently looking for interested parties to get this moving forward. If you are located in the Tri-cities area (Saginaw, Bay City, Midland) and are interest in helping us please contact us at iprcwebmaster@charter.net. Anyone seeking help and willing to help get this established please contact us at iprcwebmaster@charter.net. We are all in this together and together we can persevere!
We will first be implementing our program as Alcoholics Anonymous does by utilizing free spaces for our meetings. We are currently looking for interested parties to get this moving forward. If you are located in the Tri-cities area (Saginaw, Bay City, Midland) and are interest in helping us please contact us at iprcwebmaster@charter.net. Anyone seeking help and willing to help get this established please contact us at iprcwebmaster@charter.net. We are all in this together and together we can persevere!
The Stay Program is a non-faith-based program dedicated to helping people focus on their own mental health and learning to love themselves for their own merit. It is open to everyone and by using an altered version of the 12-step program which has been successful with alcoholism. This program offers 8 virtues to be successful in your own mental Health.
8 Virtues of the Stay Program
Honesty
It's ok to admit you’re not ok.
You don’t have to put on a face to the world. It is within normal to not feel ok. Everyone feels down and some more than others. There is no need to hide it. By hiding it and trying to deny you’re not ok. You are doing yourself and others around you a disservice. So, stand tall and shout it to the world. I’m not ok! Deal with it!
Introspection
Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself.
By looking inward and facing the fact that you have some issues that need to be understood you can come to terms with what and why you are feeling these things. It’s perfectly normal to not understand what is going on and by attempting to learn about yourself you can bring some light to the darkness that seems all pervasive. Even if you don’t figure it out completely. Learning about your feelings can help you get a grasp on them.
Acknowledgment
Admit to ourselves and to others the nature of our feelings.
In order to fight the stigma of these feelings. We need to share them and admit to ourselves we have them and it’s ok. When we can see these feelings for what they are. We can learn to step outside them and see the root of them. By admitting to ourselves and those around us that these may be dark feelings but that they are normal allows us to feel them without the pressure of them being incorrect.
Acceptance
Understand our quirks and accept they will never be gone.
Now it’s time to accept that we have these feelings and it does not make us bad people. It makes us a little more complicated. Accepting these feelings as a normal part of ourselves. We can live our life knowing that there is nothing wrong with us. Accept that we are the way we are and don’t fight being that way.
Responsibility
Make a list of all the people we have harmed (including ourselves) and make amends.
By taking responsibility we can accept that sometimes our feelings and how we have dealt with them can be hurtful. Not only to others but to ourselves. Here is where we need to apologize to ourselves and others. We need to forgive ourselves for the hurt we may have caused.
Accountability
Continue to take person inventory and when you’re wrong, admit it.
As we continue to live life. We need to remember to admit when we are in the wrong. By remembering to culpable for our actions. We learn that somethings we are in control of and yet others we are not. We learn the difference and act where needed.
Friendship
Through building a support network we can no longer feel as alone and as much of a burden.
This can be a difficult thing for most of us. Building that network of friendship with people who are not only sympathetic but willing to endure is important. This network does not need to be physically close to us but having at least one friend that we can associate with on a regular basis as we venture into the world will be incredibly uplifting. We are not islands and we do not need to worry about being a burden. Friends are there to help carry the load. We must be willing to let those people help us.
Compassion
In understanding our uniqueness, we share with others that also suffer from Suicidal Thoughts/Self-harm.
Here is where we reach out to others of us that may not have that network we have established. By extending our hands to those that may not have any to reach out for. We come full circle and are now capable of helping others.
Stay Praxis
It is our priority to remain vigilant in protecting our common welfare; personal acceptance depends on the strength of our bond.
We recognize no supreme authority other than compassion and love for each other. Our leaders are but guides and do not rule us.
The only requirement for Stay membership is a desire to live.
Each group is considered autonomous except in matters that impact other groups or the Stay Program as a whole.
The primary purpose of every group should be to carry our message to those that still suffer from thoughts of suicide and self-harm.
In order to keep our primary purpose in focus. Stay groups should not endorse, finance, or lend the Stay name to any outside organization or facility.
Outside contributions should be accepted sparingly with the goal of every Stay group being self-supporting.
Though some Stay Centers may have employed professionals. Stay should remain largely run by volunteers.
Through the creation of boards and/or committees, directly responsible to those they serve, Stay can remain unorganized and keep its grassroots intact.
Stay shall take no stance on issues outside of suicide prevention and awareness; providing the Stay name remain from being drawn into public controversy.
Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films. In order to maintain our anonymity with the press, radio and films. We shall base our policy of public relations not on promotion but attraction.
Stay believes that anonymity allows us to keep our principles at the forefront and personalities in the background.
Part Two
Once our program is running and in place our next step is to create our own space. The reason for our own space is multifaceted but the most important is to be able to completely control the environment. We look to create a safe space for everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in order to start their journey with us.
Below is a small description of what we envision our spaces to be like.
At a Stay Center
A Stay Center is a gathering place where resources, ASIST training, and general wellbeing can be attained. At a center a person who is experiencing feelings of self-harm or suicidal thoughts, yet does not want to succumb to those feelings, can go to find friendship, companionship, or just be somewhere around people that care and don’t judge. There are no stigmas at a Stay center. You are there to stay alive.
You can participate in as many or as little of the activities as you feel comfortable. There is not check in process. It’s not a hospital or wellness center. There are no forms to fill out unless you choose to fill out any of the polls, or resource materials that may have questionnaires. A Stay center is completely voluntary and anonymous. You only divulge what you are comfortable with.
The CDC gives us an important strategy for preventing suicide in its Suicide Technical Package. Below are listed the keyways to affect prevention. A Stay Center would tick all the boxes except strengthening economic supports and strengthen access and delivery of suicide care both of which are beyond the scope of this program. At a Stay Center it is possible to connect people to those resources that may be able to help with those two strategies.
Approach Strengthen economic supports
• Strengthen household financial security
• Housing stabilization policies
The CDC states “Studies from the U.S. examining historical trends indicate that suicide rates increase during economic recessions marked by high unemployment rates, job losses, and economic instability and decrease during economic expansions and periods marked by low unemployment rates, particularly for working-age individuals 25 to 64 years old. Economic and financial strain, such as job loss, long periods of unemployment, reduced income, difficulty covering medical, food, and housing expenses, and even the anticipation of such financial stress may increase an individual’s risk for suicide or may indirectly increase risk by exacerbating related physical and mental health problems. Buffering these risks can, therefore, potentially protect against suicide. For example, strengthening economic support systems can help people stay in their homes or obtain affordable housing while also paying for necessities such as food and medical care, job training, childcare, among other expenses required for daily living. In providing this support, stress and anxiety and the potential for a crisis situation may be reduced, thereby preventing suicide. Although more research is needed to understand how economic factors interact with other factors to increase suicide risk, the available evidence suggests that strengthening economic supports may be one opportunity to buffer suicide risk.”
Though most of the opportunities for helping this keyway is through economic policy and changing laws. At a Stay center we can make sure that everyone that uses our services has access to programs and opportunities that can elevate some of the financial stresses.
Strengthen access and delivery of suicide care
• Coverage of mental health conditions in health insurance policies
• Reduce provider shortages in underserved areas
• Safer suicide care through systems change
The CDC states “While most people with mental health problems do not attempt or die by suicide and the level of risk conferred by different types of mental illness varies, previous research indicates that mental illness is an important risk factor for suicide. State-level suicide rates have also been found to be correlated with general mental health measures such as depression. Findings from the National Comorbidity Survey indicate that relatively few people in the U.S. with mental health disorders receive treatment for those conditions. Lack of access to mental health care is one of the contributing factors related to the underuse of mental health services. Identifying ways to improve access to timely, affordable, and quality mental health and suicide care for people in need is a critical component to prevention. Additionally, research suggests that services provided are maximized when health and behavioral health care systems are set up to effectively and efficiently deliver such care. Apart from treatment benefits, these approaches can also normalize help-seeking behavior and increase the use of such services.”
The Stay Center is not a medical facility but what we are able to do is make sure that counseling, mental health programs, medical services and general information to allow people to get the help they feel they need.
Create protective environments
• Reduce access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide
• Organizational policies and culture
• Community-based policies to reduce excessive alcohol use
The CDC states “Prevention efforts that focus not only on individual behavior change (e.g., help-seeking, treatment interventions) but on changes to the environment can increase the likelihood of positive behavioral and health outcomes. Creating environments that address risk and protective factors where individuals live, work, and play can help prevent suicide. For example, rates of suicide are high among middle-aged adults who comprise 42.6% of the workforce; among certain occupational groups; and among people in detention facilities (e.g., jail, prison), to name a few. Thus, settings where these populations work and reside are ideal for implementing programs, practices and policies to buffer against suicide. Changes to organizational culture through the implementation of supportive policies, for instance, can change social norms, encourage help-seeking, and demonstrate that good health and mental health are valued and that stigma and other risk factors for suicide are not. Similarly, modifying the characteristics of the physical environment to prevent harmful behavior such as access to lethal means can reduce suicide rates, particularly in times of crisis or transition.”
A Stay Centers focus is to create a safe and protective environment by clearing all the procedures that typical medical facilities have that create a feeling of judgment and stigma. At a stay center we all know why you are there so there is no need to reiterate that. You come and participate at the level you feel most comfortable. No one will force you to fill out any paperwork nor will you feel like they are watching you while you are there. You have chosen to be there, and we trust your decision.
Promote connectedness
• Peer norm programs
• Community engagement activities
The CDC states “Sociologist, Emile Durkheim theorized in 1897 that weak social bonds, i.e., lack of connectedness, were among the chief causes of suicidality. Connectedness is the degree to which an individual or group of individuals are socially close, interrelated, or share resources with others. Social connections can be formed within and between multiple levels of the social ecology, for instance between individuals (e.g., peers, neighbors, co-workers), families, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, faith communities, cultural groups, and society as a whole. Related to connectedness, social capital refers to a sense of trust in one’s community and neighborhood, social integration, and also the availability and participation in social organizations. Many ecological cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have examined the impact of aspects of social capital on depression symptoms, depressive disorder, mental health more generally, and suicide. While the evidence is limited, existing studies suggest a positive association between social capital (as measured by social trust and community/neighborhood engagement), and improved mental health. Connectedness and social capital together may protect against suicidal behaviors by decreasing isolation, encouraging adaptive coping behaviors, and by increasing belongingness, personal value, and worth, to help build resilience in the face of adversity. Connectedness can also provide individuals with better access to formal supports and resources, mobilize communities to meet the needs of its members and provide collective primary prevention activities to the community as a whole.”
Connectedness is a side effect of being at a Stay Center. People are welcome to engage others at a level they are comfortable with and no one with mock or insist you participate if you are not ready. You decide who and how many people you connect with.
Teach coping and problem-solving skills
• Social-emotional learning programs
• Parenting skill and family relationship programs
The CDC states “Building life skills prepares individuals to successfully tackle everyday challenges and adapt to stress and adversity. Life skills encompasses many concepts, but most often include coping and problem-solving skills, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and critical thinking. Life skills are important in protecting individuals from suicidal behaviors. Suicide prevention programs that focus on life and social skills training are drawn from social cognitive theories, surmising that suicidal behavior is attributed to either direct learning and modeling or environmental and individual (e.g., hopelessness) characteristics. The inability to employ adequate strategies to cope with immediate stressors or identify and find solutions for problems has been characterized among suicide attempters. Teaching and providing youth with the skills to tackle everyday challenges and stressors is, therefore, an important developmental component to suicide prevention.”
One of the many things we do at a Stay Center is to teach coping and problem-solving skills among many other life skills that may help people stay the course. We have created a program using the framework of Alcoholics Anonymous in order to help people stay alive and not succumb to their thoughts of self-harm.
Identify and support people at risk
• Gatekeeper training
• Crisis intervention
• Treatment for people at risk of suicide
• Treatment to prevent re-attempts
The CDC states “In order to decrease suicide, care of, and attention to, vulnerable populations is necessary, as these groups tend to experience suicidal behavior at higher than average rates. Such vulnerable populations include, but are not limited to, individuals with lower socio-economic status or who are living with a mental health problem; people who have previously attempted suicide; Veterans and active duty military personnel; individuals who are institutionalized, have been victims of violence, or are homeless; individuals of sexual minority status; and members of certain racial and ethnic minority groups. Supporting people at risk requires proactive case finding and effective response, crisis intervention, and evidence-based treatment. Finding optimal ways of identifying at risk individuals, customizing services to make them more accessible (e.g., Internet-based services when appropriate) and engaging people in evidence-based care (e.g., through such measures as collaborative treatment), remain key challenges. Simply improving or expanding services does not guarantee that those services will be used by people most in need, nor will it necessarily increase the number of people who follow recommended referrals or treatment. For example, some people living in disadvantaged communities may face social and economic issues that can adversely affect their ability to access supportive services.”
The very fact that someone is at a Stay Center means that they feel they are at risk. Which also places their life and its decisions in their hands and not in that of others. Knowing that you control the process helps to bring about feelings of control that many with suicidal thoughts do not have.
Lessen harms and prevent future risk
• Post Intervention
• Safe reporting and messaging about suicide
The CDC states “Millions of people are bereaved by suicide every year in the United States and throughout the world. Risk of suicide and suicide risk factors has been shown to increase among people who have lost a friend/peer, family member, co-worker, or other close contact to suicide. Care and attention to the bereaved is therefore of high importance. Despite often good intentions, media and others responding to suicide may add to this risk. For example, research suggests that exposure to sensationalized or otherwise uninformed reporting on suicide may heighten the risk of suicide among vulnerable individuals and can inadvertently contribute to what is known as suicide contagion.”
Within the Stay Program, when someone is ready, we offer the chance to mentor others that may be in need. We provide literature and information on how to seek counseling and other care which can lessen harm and prevent future risk.
As you can see this program can achieve the desired outcome of saving lives by helping people save themselves. It is our belief that no one wants to die. They just don’t see any other way to achieve their goal of stopping the struggle. In the Stay Program, a Stay Center is the first step in seeing the other choices you have available.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention list many statistics and all of them are disturbing.
8 Virtues of the Stay Program
Honesty
It's ok to admit you’re not ok.
You don’t have to put on a face to the world. It is within normal to not feel ok. Everyone feels down and some more than others. There is no need to hide it. By hiding it and trying to deny you’re not ok. You are doing yourself and others around you a disservice. So, stand tall and shout it to the world. I’m not ok! Deal with it!
Introspection
Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself.
By looking inward and facing the fact that you have some issues that need to be understood you can come to terms with what and why you are feeling these things. It’s perfectly normal to not understand what is going on and by attempting to learn about yourself you can bring some light to the darkness that seems all pervasive. Even if you don’t figure it out completely. Learning about your feelings can help you get a grasp on them.
Acknowledgment
Admit to ourselves and to others the nature of our feelings.
In order to fight the stigma of these feelings. We need to share them and admit to ourselves we have them and it’s ok. When we can see these feelings for what they are. We can learn to step outside them and see the root of them. By admitting to ourselves and those around us that these may be dark feelings but that they are normal allows us to feel them without the pressure of them being incorrect.
Acceptance
Understand our quirks and accept they will never be gone.
Now it’s time to accept that we have these feelings and it does not make us bad people. It makes us a little more complicated. Accepting these feelings as a normal part of ourselves. We can live our life knowing that there is nothing wrong with us. Accept that we are the way we are and don’t fight being that way.
Responsibility
Make a list of all the people we have harmed (including ourselves) and make amends.
By taking responsibility we can accept that sometimes our feelings and how we have dealt with them can be hurtful. Not only to others but to ourselves. Here is where we need to apologize to ourselves and others. We need to forgive ourselves for the hurt we may have caused.
Accountability
Continue to take person inventory and when you’re wrong, admit it.
As we continue to live life. We need to remember to admit when we are in the wrong. By remembering to culpable for our actions. We learn that somethings we are in control of and yet others we are not. We learn the difference and act where needed.
Friendship
Through building a support network we can no longer feel as alone and as much of a burden.
This can be a difficult thing for most of us. Building that network of friendship with people who are not only sympathetic but willing to endure is important. This network does not need to be physically close to us but having at least one friend that we can associate with on a regular basis as we venture into the world will be incredibly uplifting. We are not islands and we do not need to worry about being a burden. Friends are there to help carry the load. We must be willing to let those people help us.
Compassion
In understanding our uniqueness, we share with others that also suffer from Suicidal Thoughts/Self-harm.
Here is where we reach out to others of us that may not have that network we have established. By extending our hands to those that may not have any to reach out for. We come full circle and are now capable of helping others.
Stay Praxis
It is our priority to remain vigilant in protecting our common welfare; personal acceptance depends on the strength of our bond.
We recognize no supreme authority other than compassion and love for each other. Our leaders are but guides and do not rule us.
The only requirement for Stay membership is a desire to live.
Each group is considered autonomous except in matters that impact other groups or the Stay Program as a whole.
The primary purpose of every group should be to carry our message to those that still suffer from thoughts of suicide and self-harm.
In order to keep our primary purpose in focus. Stay groups should not endorse, finance, or lend the Stay name to any outside organization or facility.
Outside contributions should be accepted sparingly with the goal of every Stay group being self-supporting.
Though some Stay Centers may have employed professionals. Stay should remain largely run by volunteers.
Through the creation of boards and/or committees, directly responsible to those they serve, Stay can remain unorganized and keep its grassroots intact.
Stay shall take no stance on issues outside of suicide prevention and awareness; providing the Stay name remain from being drawn into public controversy.
Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films. In order to maintain our anonymity with the press, radio and films. We shall base our policy of public relations not on promotion but attraction.
Stay believes that anonymity allows us to keep our principles at the forefront and personalities in the background.
Part Two
Once our program is running and in place our next step is to create our own space. The reason for our own space is multifaceted but the most important is to be able to completely control the environment. We look to create a safe space for everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in order to start their journey with us.
Below is a small description of what we envision our spaces to be like.
At a Stay Center
A Stay Center is a gathering place where resources, ASIST training, and general wellbeing can be attained. At a center a person who is experiencing feelings of self-harm or suicidal thoughts, yet does not want to succumb to those feelings, can go to find friendship, companionship, or just be somewhere around people that care and don’t judge. There are no stigmas at a Stay center. You are there to stay alive.
You can participate in as many or as little of the activities as you feel comfortable. There is not check in process. It’s not a hospital or wellness center. There are no forms to fill out unless you choose to fill out any of the polls, or resource materials that may have questionnaires. A Stay center is completely voluntary and anonymous. You only divulge what you are comfortable with.
The CDC gives us an important strategy for preventing suicide in its Suicide Technical Package. Below are listed the keyways to affect prevention. A Stay Center would tick all the boxes except strengthening economic supports and strengthen access and delivery of suicide care both of which are beyond the scope of this program. At a Stay Center it is possible to connect people to those resources that may be able to help with those two strategies.
Approach Strengthen economic supports
• Strengthen household financial security
• Housing stabilization policies
The CDC states “Studies from the U.S. examining historical trends indicate that suicide rates increase during economic recessions marked by high unemployment rates, job losses, and economic instability and decrease during economic expansions and periods marked by low unemployment rates, particularly for working-age individuals 25 to 64 years old. Economic and financial strain, such as job loss, long periods of unemployment, reduced income, difficulty covering medical, food, and housing expenses, and even the anticipation of such financial stress may increase an individual’s risk for suicide or may indirectly increase risk by exacerbating related physical and mental health problems. Buffering these risks can, therefore, potentially protect against suicide. For example, strengthening economic support systems can help people stay in their homes or obtain affordable housing while also paying for necessities such as food and medical care, job training, childcare, among other expenses required for daily living. In providing this support, stress and anxiety and the potential for a crisis situation may be reduced, thereby preventing suicide. Although more research is needed to understand how economic factors interact with other factors to increase suicide risk, the available evidence suggests that strengthening economic supports may be one opportunity to buffer suicide risk.”
Though most of the opportunities for helping this keyway is through economic policy and changing laws. At a Stay center we can make sure that everyone that uses our services has access to programs and opportunities that can elevate some of the financial stresses.
Strengthen access and delivery of suicide care
• Coverage of mental health conditions in health insurance policies
• Reduce provider shortages in underserved areas
• Safer suicide care through systems change
The CDC states “While most people with mental health problems do not attempt or die by suicide and the level of risk conferred by different types of mental illness varies, previous research indicates that mental illness is an important risk factor for suicide. State-level suicide rates have also been found to be correlated with general mental health measures such as depression. Findings from the National Comorbidity Survey indicate that relatively few people in the U.S. with mental health disorders receive treatment for those conditions. Lack of access to mental health care is one of the contributing factors related to the underuse of mental health services. Identifying ways to improve access to timely, affordable, and quality mental health and suicide care for people in need is a critical component to prevention. Additionally, research suggests that services provided are maximized when health and behavioral health care systems are set up to effectively and efficiently deliver such care. Apart from treatment benefits, these approaches can also normalize help-seeking behavior and increase the use of such services.”
The Stay Center is not a medical facility but what we are able to do is make sure that counseling, mental health programs, medical services and general information to allow people to get the help they feel they need.
Create protective environments
• Reduce access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide
• Organizational policies and culture
• Community-based policies to reduce excessive alcohol use
The CDC states “Prevention efforts that focus not only on individual behavior change (e.g., help-seeking, treatment interventions) but on changes to the environment can increase the likelihood of positive behavioral and health outcomes. Creating environments that address risk and protective factors where individuals live, work, and play can help prevent suicide. For example, rates of suicide are high among middle-aged adults who comprise 42.6% of the workforce; among certain occupational groups; and among people in detention facilities (e.g., jail, prison), to name a few. Thus, settings where these populations work and reside are ideal for implementing programs, practices and policies to buffer against suicide. Changes to organizational culture through the implementation of supportive policies, for instance, can change social norms, encourage help-seeking, and demonstrate that good health and mental health are valued and that stigma and other risk factors for suicide are not. Similarly, modifying the characteristics of the physical environment to prevent harmful behavior such as access to lethal means can reduce suicide rates, particularly in times of crisis or transition.”
A Stay Centers focus is to create a safe and protective environment by clearing all the procedures that typical medical facilities have that create a feeling of judgment and stigma. At a stay center we all know why you are there so there is no need to reiterate that. You come and participate at the level you feel most comfortable. No one will force you to fill out any paperwork nor will you feel like they are watching you while you are there. You have chosen to be there, and we trust your decision.
Promote connectedness
• Peer norm programs
• Community engagement activities
The CDC states “Sociologist, Emile Durkheim theorized in 1897 that weak social bonds, i.e., lack of connectedness, were among the chief causes of suicidality. Connectedness is the degree to which an individual or group of individuals are socially close, interrelated, or share resources with others. Social connections can be formed within and between multiple levels of the social ecology, for instance between individuals (e.g., peers, neighbors, co-workers), families, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, faith communities, cultural groups, and society as a whole. Related to connectedness, social capital refers to a sense of trust in one’s community and neighborhood, social integration, and also the availability and participation in social organizations. Many ecological cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have examined the impact of aspects of social capital on depression symptoms, depressive disorder, mental health more generally, and suicide. While the evidence is limited, existing studies suggest a positive association between social capital (as measured by social trust and community/neighborhood engagement), and improved mental health. Connectedness and social capital together may protect against suicidal behaviors by decreasing isolation, encouraging adaptive coping behaviors, and by increasing belongingness, personal value, and worth, to help build resilience in the face of adversity. Connectedness can also provide individuals with better access to formal supports and resources, mobilize communities to meet the needs of its members and provide collective primary prevention activities to the community as a whole.”
Connectedness is a side effect of being at a Stay Center. People are welcome to engage others at a level they are comfortable with and no one with mock or insist you participate if you are not ready. You decide who and how many people you connect with.
Teach coping and problem-solving skills
• Social-emotional learning programs
• Parenting skill and family relationship programs
The CDC states “Building life skills prepares individuals to successfully tackle everyday challenges and adapt to stress and adversity. Life skills encompasses many concepts, but most often include coping and problem-solving skills, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and critical thinking. Life skills are important in protecting individuals from suicidal behaviors. Suicide prevention programs that focus on life and social skills training are drawn from social cognitive theories, surmising that suicidal behavior is attributed to either direct learning and modeling or environmental and individual (e.g., hopelessness) characteristics. The inability to employ adequate strategies to cope with immediate stressors or identify and find solutions for problems has been characterized among suicide attempters. Teaching and providing youth with the skills to tackle everyday challenges and stressors is, therefore, an important developmental component to suicide prevention.”
One of the many things we do at a Stay Center is to teach coping and problem-solving skills among many other life skills that may help people stay the course. We have created a program using the framework of Alcoholics Anonymous in order to help people stay alive and not succumb to their thoughts of self-harm.
Identify and support people at risk
• Gatekeeper training
• Crisis intervention
• Treatment for people at risk of suicide
• Treatment to prevent re-attempts
The CDC states “In order to decrease suicide, care of, and attention to, vulnerable populations is necessary, as these groups tend to experience suicidal behavior at higher than average rates. Such vulnerable populations include, but are not limited to, individuals with lower socio-economic status or who are living with a mental health problem; people who have previously attempted suicide; Veterans and active duty military personnel; individuals who are institutionalized, have been victims of violence, or are homeless; individuals of sexual minority status; and members of certain racial and ethnic minority groups. Supporting people at risk requires proactive case finding and effective response, crisis intervention, and evidence-based treatment. Finding optimal ways of identifying at risk individuals, customizing services to make them more accessible (e.g., Internet-based services when appropriate) and engaging people in evidence-based care (e.g., through such measures as collaborative treatment), remain key challenges. Simply improving or expanding services does not guarantee that those services will be used by people most in need, nor will it necessarily increase the number of people who follow recommended referrals or treatment. For example, some people living in disadvantaged communities may face social and economic issues that can adversely affect their ability to access supportive services.”
The very fact that someone is at a Stay Center means that they feel they are at risk. Which also places their life and its decisions in their hands and not in that of others. Knowing that you control the process helps to bring about feelings of control that many with suicidal thoughts do not have.
Lessen harms and prevent future risk
• Post Intervention
• Safe reporting and messaging about suicide
The CDC states “Millions of people are bereaved by suicide every year in the United States and throughout the world. Risk of suicide and suicide risk factors has been shown to increase among people who have lost a friend/peer, family member, co-worker, or other close contact to suicide. Care and attention to the bereaved is therefore of high importance. Despite often good intentions, media and others responding to suicide may add to this risk. For example, research suggests that exposure to sensationalized or otherwise uninformed reporting on suicide may heighten the risk of suicide among vulnerable individuals and can inadvertently contribute to what is known as suicide contagion.”
Within the Stay Program, when someone is ready, we offer the chance to mentor others that may be in need. We provide literature and information on how to seek counseling and other care which can lessen harm and prevent future risk.
As you can see this program can achieve the desired outcome of saving lives by helping people save themselves. It is our belief that no one wants to die. They just don’t see any other way to achieve their goal of stopping the struggle. In the Stay Program, a Stay Center is the first step in seeing the other choices you have available.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention list many statistics and all of them are disturbing.