Spike in suicides in South Dakota causing fears of emerging MH crisis

Abstract

A significant spike in the number of suicides in South Dakota in the first three months of 2021 has put the state on pace for a record year for suicide deaths and has prevention experts worried that a long‐range mental health crisis may be emerging, Aberdeen News reported July 17. New data from the state Department of Health show that from January through March 2021, 59 people died by suicide in South Dakota. By comparison, 28 suicide deaths were reported in the first three months of 2020, and 40 suicide deaths occurred in the first three months of 2019. If the pace of deaths in early 2021 continues, the state would see a record 236 suicides in 2021, a 27% increase in deaths compared to 2020, when there were 186 suicide deaths, and a 70% jump over 2010, when 139 people died by suicide. Lingering stress from the COVID‐19 pandemic, coupled with existing mental health conditions, is seen as a possible cause for the rise in suicides in early 2021. The Helpline Center recently started mental health training for students in grades 10–12 to learn about suicide warning signs. The Front Porch Coalition and Rapid City Police Department started a program in the fall that works with children who are considered at high risk for suicide or with those who know someone who died by suicide.