Take a Home Inventory to Prevent Suicides

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness month. How safe is your home? Research shows that access to a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide by 300 percent. According to colleagues at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, taking a home inventory is important because: 

• Many suicide attempts take place during a short-term crisis, so it is important to consider a person's access to lethal means during these periods of increased risk. 
• Access to lethal means is a risk factor for suicide. 
• Reducing access to lethal means saves lives. 

"Means reduction" refers to reducing a person's access to lethal methods. The Harvard University Means Matter campaign reports: 

• Many suicide attempts occur with little planning during a short-term crisis. 
• Intent isn't all that determines whether an attempter lives or dies; means also matter.
• 90 percent of attempters who survive do NOT go on to die by suicide later. 
• Access to firearms is a risk factor for suicide. 
• Firearms used in youth suicide usually belong to a parent. 
• Reducing access to lethal means saves lives. 

Read more from Harvard School of Public Health on what families and individuals can do to reduce means. You play an important role in helping reduce the rate of suicide in Arizona.