State suicide‑prevention team briefs Churchill trustees on training, Garrett Lee Smith grant and school supports

Emma White, youth suicide prevention coordinator for the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention, told the Churchill County School District Board of Trustees about statewide suicide data, several prevention programs the office supports and an awarded five‑year grant that will target Churchill, Elko and Carson City school districts.

White said the state reports 698 suicide deaths in 2022 and noted Nevada ranked seventh highest in the nation on that measure; she cautioned that 2023 numbers are awaiting CDC confirmation. White said Nevada records a suicide death about every 14 hours and emphasized that suicide prevention requires both prevention and postvention (support after a death).

Why it matters: the presentation described training, screening and postvention steps the state can provide, and trustees asked how the district will implement and sustain new practices, and whether a local board policy is needed.

Key items White described: the Signs of Suicide (SOS) classroom screening program (45 minutes for middle and high school students; parents may opt out); Hope Squad, a peer‑led mental‑health leadership program being implemented at the high school and moving toward the middle school; Project Stay, a pilot to encourage sports teams to train coaches and provide local support; and an incoming Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) five‑year SAMHSA grant focusing on intervention strategies, juvenile justice linkages and school‑based services in Churchill, Elko and Carson City. White said GLS contracts were in process and that the team’s trainings and technical assistance to schools are free.

White described help available after a loss (postvention), noting a Department of Education requirement the presenter said will ask districts to adopt postvention policy and emergency operations elements by August. She also listed crisis and help resources for families and students, including 988, the SafeVoice tip line and peer support lines such as NAMI text.

Board members and district staff asked how to ensure broad student awareness of resources; White and district counseling staff said posters, items on student ID cards (988 on back of cards), peer programs like Hope Squad and targeted outreach are part of a combined approach. White offered to supply materials and training and encouraged coordination with local Community Care Behavioral Health Centers and law‑enforcement and county public‑health partners.

Ending: Trustees thanked the state team. District leaders said they would work with the Office of Suicide Prevention on training schedules, postvention planning and family outreach; White said materials and contact information were available and that the GLS grant would bring multi‑year capacity building to the area.