What if we told you that one variable accounts for 80% of youth suicide attempts? What could we do to change that? Through their Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative, Exeter Hospital has partnered with HAVEN to provide educational programming addressing trauma, the leading cause of suicide attempts among children and adolescents.*
Generous funding from Exeter Hospital has allowed HAVEN to expand our education staff, providing us with two full-time teams
To provide educational programs in schools across Rockingham and Strafford County, increasing our reach to schools.
Their support has also allowed us to provide professional conferences on the impact of trauma, supporting not only our well-received Trauma and Suicide Prevention Conference in the fall, but also our upcoming Spring Conference on Trauma and Substance Use Disorders.
Additionally, HAVEN’s Safe Kids Strong Teens Violence Prevention Education Team is in the process of rolling out a new High School curriculum that teaches teens and adults about the undeniable connection between trauma and risk for suicide in youth. Focusing not only on the neurological underpinnings of trauma and other types of Adverse Childhood Experiences and why they create vulnerabilities for self-harm, this 3 part program also teaches students how to support their peers who are at risk. The program’s trauma-sensitivity and messaging of hope help teens demystify their lived experiences, so they are better able to heal from the adversity of their past and increase help-seeking behaviors and protective factors. The culmination of the program will be a student-created educational piece, helping the adults in their life understand this serious and under-addressed issue.
Ending violence and changing lives is not just a tagline for HAVEN, it is a mission and a promise to our community. HAVEN would like to thank Exeter Hospital for their financial backing to help us launch this much-needed education.
*The Origins of Addiction: Evidence from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, Vincent J. Felitti, MD