New Jersey’s suicide prevention hotline clinician says knowing the warning signs and what to say could save lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide was the 11th leading cause of death overall in the United States, with more than 48,000 lives lost to suicide in 2021.
While national rates declined in 2018 through 2020 from a previous 18-year high of 14.2 deaths per 100,000 citizens, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 14, 15 to 24, 25 to 34 and 35 and 44. The total number of suicides, 48,000, nearly returned to their peak in 2021.
New Jersey now has the lowest suicide rate in the nation, with about 7.1 suicides per 100,000 people, in part because of the resources available for individuals in crisis. “A transformation in our nation’s crisis continuum is unfolding” said William Zimmermann, director of crisis services at the National Call Center at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. “Our collective goal remains the same: Zero deaths by suicide. A single life lost is too many.” To read the full story.