Suicide among Virginia Active Duty and Veterans

On behalf of Dr. Leah Bush, Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are pleased to present a new report from the Virginia Violent Death Reporting System called Military-Related Suicide in Virginia: 2003-2010. This report examines suicide among active duty military members and military veterans in Virginia. Highlights of this report include:

• From 2003-2010 there were 1,647 suicide decedents in Virginia who were active duty military members or military veterans. 
• Estimates of suicide rates suggest that male active duty military members and veterans ages 18-29 have a 2.8 times increase in suicide risk as compared to similarly aged civilian males.
• Active duty military members less often gave clear warning signs to friends and family that they were at risk for suicide than did civilians. 
• Military members had a number of protective factors in place including education, marriage, and employment, but were still at increased risk for suicide.

This report is available at: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/medExam/NVDRS.htm#reports

From Marc Leslie

National Survivors of Suicide Day

November 17, 2013

Teleconference dedicated to those who have lost a loved one to suicide.  This annual event may also be beneficial to anyone who comes in contact with a suicide. For more details of what the Teleconference is about, you can find additional info at www.afsp.org . The outline of the day is as follows:

12:30 - 1:00 pm Registration

1:00 - 2:30 pm Viewing of Teleconference

2:30 - 3:00 pm Discussion

This is the fifth year that the Staunton Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group is hosting this event. Please come show your support. Refreshments will be served so I ask that you RSVP no later than Nov. 10 Thanks much and I look forward to seeing you all at the Teleconference!!

Sean McGowan

540-241-2320

Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress

We are pleased to announce the release of Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress: A Faculty Handbook. This is a free resource to all Virginia colleges and universities and we invite you to consider how you might use this on your own campus.


The handbook was created in two formats. The above link takes you to an E-Book version. You may want to send this out to faculty or post it on a faculty resource website. We suggest that you post it alongside a list of your own campus and community mental health services.

A limited number of hard copies are available, at no cost, to interested campuses. We will distribute them on the basis of the number of requests we get, so if you are interested, it would be best to contact me soon. The hard copy has a pocket in the inside cover to hold a list of your campus and community resources.

From Jane Wiggins, Ph.D.