[V]ermont’s suicide prevention center will run out of money July 31.
Dr. JoEllen Tarallo-Falk of the Center for Health and Learning went to the Statehouse last week to seek funding for the Vermont Center for Suicide Prevention to the state’s top lawmakers, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Lt. Gov. Phil Scott.
A branch of the Center for Health and Learning in Brattleboro, the Vermont Center for Suicide Prevention has been funded primarily by a federal grant of $479,000, with an additional $100,000 from the state.
But the federal funding will end this summer, and Tarallo-Falk says the center’s work will grind to a halt if additional money is not secured from the state. The organization is seeking a $750,000 state appropriation to continue its work.
Vermont has a high rate of suicide as compared with the national average. About two occur each week. Among youths, the Vermont suicide rate is 14.9 per 100,000 — compared to the national rate of 11.2. According to the Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey between 2011 and 2013, one-fifth of all high school students contemplated suicide.
The Vermont Center for Suicide Prevention says every case of suicide can lead to spinoff effects in communities and schools. Mental health issues, alcohol and drug use and other suicides, known as suicide contagion, can follow.
The center is the lead designated agency on suicide for the Vermont Department of Mental Health. The organization works with schools and professionals around the state to increase awareness about how to respond to warning signs of suicide. It also seeks to teach people how to respond after a community or school experiences a suicide.
Mental health issues and suicide risk among teens and young adults is a growing concern among lawmakers in Montpelier. Last week, Rep. Ron Hubert, R-Milton, introduced a bill that will require mandatory reporters to quickly pass along information about bullying and hazing. Nicknamed “Jordan’s Bill,” H.41 responds to the 2012 suicide of Jordan Preavy, a Milton teen who had been hazed.
With a $750,000 state investment, the Vermont Center for Suicide Prevention hopes it can continue its work. In proposals to lawmakers, the center suggested that the funding could come from the Agency of Human Services, the Department of Health and the Agency of Education.
Funding is tough to come by these days in Montpelier, but the center says an investment by the three agencies in a collaborative approach to suicide prevention would ultimately reduce the amount they spend on similar efforts.
“We feel like the $750,000 we’re asking for will help decrease other budgets that are directly related to the three agencies we are suggesting that the funds come from,” said Cathy Lamberton, whose son died of suicide, and who was in Montpelier with Tarallo-Falk.
In Lamberton’s experience, resources can make a big difference in suicide prevention.
“The overhead is minimal, but the impact is huge,” Lamberton said.
