Florida School Toolkit for K-12 Educators to Prevent Suicide

A postvention checklist, by Scott Poland and Richard Lieberman, is available in Tool 21 and Tool 22 and provides recommendations to support students and staff members after a suicide. It also addresses the challenges that schools face and answers the most commonly asked questions. Additionally, a two-part article in the Appendices section addresses suicide contagion. Key steps after a suicide are the following: 1. V erify the death has occurred and determine the cause of death. 2. M obilize the School Crisis Response Team. 3. A ssess the suicide’s impact on the school and estimate the level of postvention response that is needed. 4. N otify school staff in person, if possible, and provide support. 5. Encourage everyone to use the term “died by suicide” and avoid the term “committed suicide.” The term “died by suicide” is more acceptable to survivors and implies that the suicide victim traveled a long road. Emphasize that no one thing or person is ever to blame for a suicide. 6. C ontact the family of the suicide victim. • Contact should be made in person and as soon as possible, but certainly within 24 hours of the death. • Purposes include - expressing sympathy - offering support - identifying the victim’s siblings and friends who need assistance - d iscussing the school’s postvention response - identifying details about the death that can be shared with others - discussing funeral arrangements and determining whether the family wants school personnel and students to attend - discussing timing of the funeral and encouraging an after-school or weekend service so parents can accompany students who wish to attend 7. D etermine what information to share about the suicide. • Sample letters are available in the toolkit ( afsp.org and sprc.org ) to use as templates. Message points may include the following: - Death has been ruled a suicide. - Cause is unconfirmed (ask that rumors not be spread). - Family has requested cause of death not be disclosed. - Since the subject of suicide has been raised through rumors circulating, it is important to remember that suicide is a leading cause of death for youth and we must all increase our knowledge of warning signs and where to get help for ourselves or our friends. Suicide is very complex, but mental illnesses such as depression are usually the cause. If the family cannot be persuaded that it is in the best interest of their child’s friends and future prevention efforts to tell the truth about the suicide, that no family issues or factors would ever be shared, and the focus will be to only support the living, then it is recommended that the school crisis team convene. At that time, the school crisis team will decide whether to follow the Critical Procedures to Follow in the Aftermath of a Death by Suicide 35