In August 2025, WJBF in Atlanta reported that “the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities reveals suicide is the leading cause of death for young adults in the state, with more than 60% of those deaths occurring in the 20–24 age group.” Even more tragic? “The data also shows suicide is the second leading cause of death for children ages 10–14 and the third leading cause for people 15–24.” The report further noted some contributing factors, including “isolation, reduced adult oversight, and lack of routine.”
There’s also still considerable stigma and shame regarding mental and emotional health issues. So, for the entire month of September, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) uses its program Suicide Prevention Awareness Month to communicate “the warning signs for suicide, encouraging open conversations about mental health, and connecting people to proven treatment and resources.”
How Can Increased Suicide Prevention Awareness Make a Difference?
Studies show that even brief, caring check-ins serve as a critical protective factor that relieves emotional pressure and helps someone feel seen and valued. Community connection provides emotional support, combats loneliness, and anchors hope in people whose circumstances feel unstable. When we choose empathy over judgment, we become part of an essential safety net.
At its core, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is about belonging, understanding, and extending hope. By turning knowledge into kindness and seeing every person as a story worth protecting, we honor lives and encourage healing. Guided by SAMHSA’s 2025 theme, “Together in Strength, Dignity, Hope, and Purpose,” this September urges communities to align compassion with action. Here are the four weekly themes:
- Sept 1–5: Understanding Risk: Embracing Treatment, Hope, and Resilience
This week invites us to acknowledge that suicide stems from complex, interconnected factors. It emphasizes the power of evidence-based care, spreading messages of hope, and honoring personal recovery paths without judgment. - Sept 8–12: Building Community Partnerships and Supports
This week celebrates peer-led initiatives and local collaboration—valuing those with lived experience to reduce stigma, build trust, and foster belonging. - Sept 15–19: Improving Care and Outcomes for People at Risk
Suicide prevention isn’t just about one moment—it’s about sustained care. This week underscores creating accessible support, safety plans, follow-up, and encouraging self-care routines for long-term resilience. - Sept 22–30: Promoting Dignity Through Connection
Stories hold power. This week amplifies voices shaped by lived experiences, reminding us that simple connections—such as reaching out, listening, or sharing—can restore dignity, grief, and hope.
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is far more than a symbolic gesture—it’s an opportunity to transform concern into connection, despair into dialogue, and silence into solidarity.
What Are Signs of Suicide Ideation?
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center lists the following as a few critical indicators:
- A recent episode of depression, emotional distress, and/or anxiety.
- Withdrawing socially or from once-loved activities.
- Displaying increased substance use.
- Sharing thoughts of being trapped, hopeless, or burdensome.
- Becoming violent, engaging in more risky behavior, or self-harm.
- Struggling with guilt or shame.
- Casually talking about their death or that of others.
- Declines in school or work performance, sleeping and eating habits, or personal hygiene.
- Giving away personal belongings.
Suicidal thoughts can spiral when they align with:
- Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia—all of which might smother hope and cloud thinking.
- Substance misuse, especially alongside mental health struggles, can intensify pain and lower impulse control.
- Trauma and chronic pain often create deep, ongoing emotional wounds.
- Life disruptions, such as bereavement, job loss, financial stress, relationship breakdowns, or discrimination, are often overwhelming for people with little support.
- Marginalization—especially for Veterans, young people, members of the LGBTQAI+2s community, and other historically underserved groups—compounds risk through exclusion, stigma, and isolation.
- Barriers to care leave people unsupported in crisis.
Hotlines to Call for Immediate Assistance
These free, confidential resources provide essential services:
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Available to everyone 24/7. Call or text 988, or use the online chat function.
- Copline: Available to current and former law enforcement personnel and their families 24/7. Call 1-800-COPLINE (267-5463).
- Fire/EMS Helpline: Available to firefighters, EMTs, rescue personnel, and their families 24/7. Call 1-888-731-FIRE (3473).
- LGBT National Hotline: Available to all members of the LGBTQIA+2s community, including youth, adults, and seniors, Monday–Saturday during specific hours. Call 888-843-4564 for the primary hotline or visit the website for other options.
- NAMI Helpline. Available to everyone in need of one-on-one emotional support, mental health information, and resources needed to tackle tough challenges, Monday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. EST. Call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or text ‘NAMI’ to 62640.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: Available to everyone 24/7. Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text ‘START’ to 88788, or use the online chat function.
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: Available to everyone 24/7. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673), or text ‘HOPE’ to 64673, or use the online chat function.
- The Trevor Project Crisis Line: Available to LGBTQIA+2s youth 24/7. Call 1-866-488-7386, or text ‘START’ to 678-678, or use the online chat function.
- Veterans Crisis Line: Available to Veterans and their loved ones 24/7. Call 988, then press 1, or text 838255, or use the online chat function. You don’t have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to connect with caring, qualified responders.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Georgia offers these additional support systems.
Trust Willingway With Your Life
You matter. And you deserve dignified, compassionate care to create a better future. At Willingway’s Georgia and Florida addiction rehabilitation locations, our board-certified medical professionals are also able to treat individuals who are living with mood disorders, depression, PTSD, and other general emotional problems. Reach out to our admissions team to learn how we can help you or someone you love.