Lifelines: A Suicide Prevention Program

Comprehensive suicide prevention program

This comprehensive suicide prevention program is a whole-school program. Lifelines educates students on the facts about suicide and students’ role in suicide prevention. It provides information on where to find suicide prevention resources in the school and community. Training materials are included for faculty and staff that provide accurate and practical information on identifying and referring students who might be at risk for suicide. Lifelines also includes a presentation for parents that answers questions about youth suicide and prevention, and it involves them in the school’s suicide prevention activities.

Target Audience

Lifelines is designed for implementation in middle schools and high schools for students grades 8-10. It targets the whole school community by providing suicide awareness resources for administrators, faculty and staff, parents, and students. It fits easily into health class programming and lesson plans.

Although the research and outcomes are based on school-wide implementation, Lifelines can also be a successful component to any community-based program, such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Program Components

Lifelines is made up of four parts: administrative consultation, faculty and staff training, a parent workshop, and the student curriculum.

Part I: Administrative Consultation

This part must be completed before any other parts of the Lifelines program can be implemented. In this important component, school administrators review their school’s internal and external resources for responding to the needs of students who are potentially at risk for suicide. Administrators should also update policies and procedures for dealing with suicide attempts and completions. A sample policy is included with the program.

Part II: Faculty and Staff Training

This is an in-service training for all faculty and school staff. This training explains the Lifelines approach to youth suicide prevention, reviews current information about youth suicide, and explains the role of school staff in suicide prevention. (This is separate from the optional program implementation training.)

Part III: Parent Workshop

This workshop must be completed before the delivery of the student curriculum. The workshop explains why the school is systematically addressing the problem of youth suicide. Additional informational materials are included that can be mailed or placed on the school’s Web site.

Part IV: Student Curriculum

The curriculum has four 45-minute lessons that include detailed lesson plans and video resources that cover facts about suicide and students’ role in suicide prevention. The program also reviews in-school and community resources. Two videos are included with the program. One shows students a scenario depicting appropriate (as well as inappropriate) responses to a suicidal peer, and one documents an actual response of three students to a suicidal peer after they had participated in Lifelines. Students participate in role-playing exercises that teach what to do when faced with a suicidal peer. The exercises feature an emphasis on seeking adult help and frank discussions on the warning signs of suicide.

Lifelines: A Suicide Prevention Program
A Suicide Prevention Program
Teachers manual and DVD

Price: $225.00 Each

Item #2759