We don’t always know why; we don’t know what could have been; WE ONLY KNOW: In America, nearly 1 million people attempt suicide each year. One person completes suicide every 16 minutes. Nationally, suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth ages 15-24. In West Virginia it is the SECOND leading cause of death for this age group. Children in our own communities are feeling so hopeless that they identify suicide as a reasonable, purposeful driven solution for problems or issues with alternative means of resolution. Ninety percent of the individuals who die by suicide have a treatable mental illness or substance abuse disorder. Suicide is a PREVENTABLE death. Suicide is an issue that can no longer be ignored, but acknowledged, as a matter of public health and concern. As a community, as individuals, we can provide the options, interventions, and preventions to help assist those in need, creating a competent and compassionate environment for our youth.


The Adolescent Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention (ASPEN) program is funded through Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Federal Grant Funds and partners with the West Virginia Council for the Prevention of Suicide and the Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities in order to promote suicide prevention and early intervention in West Virginia. Specifically, the program provides suicide awareness trainings to professionals and individuals from various perspectives, encompassing a wide array of schools, agencies, and community organizations across the state of West Virginia. The ASPEN project serves the youth in Kanawha County by providing a same-day mobile quick response team to school referrals. The teams provide crisis intervention, risk assessments, coordination of services, in providing for protective factors and supportive intervention for youth and their families. We are honored to participate in the effort to facilitate prevention and intervention in order to ensure the continued safety and well-being of the individuals within our community.