The Statewide Suicide Prevention Council has released its new 5-year State Suicide Prevention Plan, “Messages of Hope: Promoting Wellness to Prevent Suicide in Alaska, 2023-2027.” The Council is statutorily obligated to release a 5-year plan.

The Council decided to build on the benchmarks achieved from the previous plan, “Recasting the Net: Promoting Wellness to Prevent Suicide in Alaska 2018-2022,” with a greater focus on state services related to suicide prevention for all Alaskans and to guide the work of suicide prevention in Alaska through 2027. The Council created a state plan subcommittee with various subject matter experts to update the state plan throughout 2022 and into 2023, including two separate public comment periods to get input from Alaskans.

“Messages of Hope” is available on the Council website. A limited number of hard copies will be available later this month through the Council office. To request a hard copy or digital copy of the plan call (907) 465-6518 or email eric.morrison@alaska.gov.

“Messages of Hope” has six goals, each with a number of strategies and action items to help individuals, communities, and the state help promote wellness and reduce suicide. They are:

• Goal 1: Address Upstream Factors that Impact Suicide;
• Goal 2: Implement a Broad-Based Public Health Response to Suicide;
• Goal 3: Reduce Access to Lethal Means;
• Goal 4: Enhance Alaska’s Crisis Continuum of Care;
• Goal 5: Address Special Considerations for Alaskan Youth, Seniors and Elders, Veterans and Military Families; and
• Goal 6: Improve the Quality of Data and Research for Suicide Prevention Efforts.

The Council is responsible for advising legislators and the Governor on ways to improve Alaskans’ health and wellness by reducing suicide, improving public awareness of suicide and risk factors, enhancing suicide prevention efforts, working with partners and faith-based organizations to develop healthier communities, creating a statewide suicide prevention plan and putting it in action, and building and strengthening partnerships to prevent suicide.

  Alaska, plan, prevention, suicide