The nation's suicide rate is up 33 percent from 1999 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But among teens, the number is even higher. The suicide rate among whites increased 70 percent from 2006 to 2016 and, although African-Americans die by suicide less often, the rate of increase among blacks was higher, at 77 percent.
Locally, an eighth-grade boy from Walnut Hills High School died by suicide in February of this year, and in 2017, 8-year-old Gabriel Taye's suicide also shocked the Cincinnati Public Schools community. The Mason City School District has also struggled with a number of student suicides in recent years. Eighth and ninth graders are now learning about the warning signs in their health classes.
Joining Cincinnati Edition to discuss suicide prevention strategies areSchool Culture and Safety Manager Dr. Carrie Bunger; Public Information Officer Tracey Carson; University of Cincinnati Assistant Professor Dr. Jennifer Wright-Berryman; and Community Care Associate Director Alexander Rulon.
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