Use visible adult identifiers and peer-focused media to signal safe adults and open conversations about suicide prevention¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 design), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

As suicide prevention efforts, PUSD created a video and education series titled "Talk to Me, I'll Listen" for grades 9–12 students and parents, encouraging open conversations and support networks to address suicidal ideation. Staff in grades 7–12 "wore matching shirts to signify that they were safe adults to talk to," and grades 7–8 staff created their own suicide prevention program to ensure continuity as students entered high school. This is a Tier 1 universal support strategy.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• staff participation in visible identification and continuity planning between grade spans

Constraints¶

• tailored to grades 7–12 in one district; no outcome evaluation of the strategy is reported in the brief

Target Learners¶

• students in grades 7–12 and their parents

Target Learning Goals¶

• recognizing and responding to signs of a mental health challenge; building support networks to address suicidal ideation

Claims¶

• Secondary students in PUSD increasingly reported open mental health conversations at school and knowing where to go for help from 2020/21 to 2022/23 [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Establish student-led peer-based suicide prevention clubs using Sources of Strength

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Paradise Unified School District: Building School Mental Health Systems to Support Healing and Recovery Through Project Cal-Well. (2024). WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED655970