Today is the first day of Suicide Prevention Month. 

Some will be posting their personal ties to suicide, maybe a loss, or a struggle. Suicide prevention folks will share fundraising or program content, hoping to take advantage of this month to raise awareness and bring in donations. 

Our SPRC LE program recently produced and aired a beautiful video that highlights how including people with lived experience can reshape the work. I could easily take the time today to push this content out and hope it would land across the field and help others see why technical experts and lived experience experts should be working hand in hand. Still, the truth is, I have far too many moments of disillusionment in this work, and I wonder what sharing our video today would really do other than grab a few extra likes. 

Instead, today, I want to talk about the fact that when I post suicide prevention awareness content, few people like or engage with it. Few even likely see it. We could blame algorithms or attention spans, but at the end of the day, a personal post or joke does far better than a message meant to help someone out of the depths of despair. Why is that?

Our field needs to re-evaluate how we share, how we connect, and how we employ best practice approaches. We spend so much time, money, and effort developing content only to have it land flat over and over. Then there is the truth of our “work” and those who drive it. We are not on the same page, or even in the same books, most of the time. There will always be differing opinions, but what other fields diverge as much as ours do when it comes to best practice approaches? What other life-saving fields allow people to simply do what they want rather than adhere to best practice? I see it multiple times a day. People who mean well, “going against the grain,” but they don’t really even understand the underlying practices of what should be driving efforts. 

Instead of making a cute photo or writing something compelling or poignant, I am taking a moment to ask those in our field to consider the approaches and practices they use to reach everyday people. Are we connecting? Are we making a difference? Or are we desperate for dollars and likes? I know I have felt the pang of dissatisfaction because my posts went nowhere, but at the end of the day, were they about me, or those I was hoping to reach? 

Best practice approaches are important across fields and activities. They include people with lived-living experiences in the development of the work, and they ensure the work is impactful and effective. It isn’t based on opinion or personal desire, but on what is best for us all. 

Today is the start of YOU seeing a lot of suicide prevention content. I urge you to use a critical lens to support efforts that center around best practices. I hope you will remember that suicide prevention activities should happen every day, not just one month out of the year. This goes for those of us in this field, too. Connect with one another, be kind, and support wellbeing practices for yourself and those with whom you interact.