Self Harm & Suicide Prevention
"Helping Teens Thrive in a Better Way"

LifeBST is beginning to gain traction. We have gained the support of local politicians (some of whom believe in the program enough that they have personally helped with funding), local health systems, local mental health systems, educators, and individual providers and members of the mental health community. LifeBST is evidence based and is being called a "game changer in the area of suicide prevention," by many in the mental health field. This is our largest undertaking and is currently the focus of our fundraising efforts. Visit the LifeBST.org website for more details about this program.

05/19/2021 Update - We have updated our Self Harm & Suicide Prevention Plan. Here is an overview.

The vast majority of groups and organizations working in this area are focused on suicide awareness which is desparately needed. A smaller number of groups and organizations are focused on suicide prevention as it pertains to an existing mental health crisis. We applaud these groups and organizations and the vital work they do, and work with them to further the cause of suicide prevention. Our primary self harm and suicide prevention efforts, however, are targeted to the K-12 population in an attempt to avoid the mental health crisis to begin with. The high level overview of our plan is as follows:

1. The introduction of Life Behavioral Skills Training (LifeBST) as a part of the K-12 curriculum
   1. Age appropriate LifeBST taught to students in public and private schools
   2. Work with existing scholastic publishing organizations to reinforce LifeBST concepts
   3. Training and online resources for teachers at each age group
   4. Training and online resources for school administrators and counselors
   5. Online resources and education for parents
2. Resources and support for parents of children suffering from self harm, suicidal ideation, and Borderline Personality Traits
3. Resources and support for faculty, administrators, and counselors who work with children suffering from self harm, suicidal ideation, and Borderline Personality Traits
4. Resources and support for the community as a whole
5. Awareness resources in association with other organizations engaged in suicide awareness
6. Grief counseling and support in association with other organizations that offer these services. Families Renewed will offer grief counseling and support where existing resources do not exist.

01/01/2021 Update - We have just come through ten months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has become obvious that children and families are sorely lacking child and family advocates. During this time we have found an exponential increase in alcohol and substance abuse by children and young adults. Depression and anxiety has nearly doubled in these age groups, as has suicidal ideation and self harm. Government agencies have been weaponized to fulfill the specific agendas of the various state and federal administrations, and parents are left with the difficulty of trying to discern what is true and what is false. Making informed parental decisions is nearly impossible with all of the political end fighting from both sides of the aisle. Finally, with all that has happened, parents are left without choices as to how they want to raise their children, and the people in government making these choices for parents are doing so without appropriate consideration of the consequences of their actions. As a result, children and families are suffering, not so much from the pandemic, but from the decisions that are being made for them.

This needs to stop. The children and families in our area need advocacy. They need people who are fighting for their needs and their rights. Parents need to be able to raise their families the way they see fit, according to their values. As a result, Families Renewed, Inc. is expanding its Self Harm Prevention program to include child and family advocacy. We have done this in the past on a limited basis for multi-agency meetings involving children to help coordinate the different services each agency has to offer and to ensure the best interests of the children are the foremost consideration when developing assistance plans. We ensure that the needs of those children, and their families, are met. Now we are widening the scope of this program to work with stakeholders, decision makers, and law makers on behalf of local children and families.

While it has happened in the past, the idea of teens engaged in self harm as a common practice is relatively new.

• 60% of teens have engaged in self harm
• 50% of teens engage in self harm on a regular and continuing basis.
• Teen girls are 3 times more likely to engage in self harm than boys
• Teens who engage in self harm on a regular basis are at increased risk of drug and alcohol abuse and suicide.

While there are a variety of causes of self harm, we know that social causes far outweigh other causes of self harm, and the greatest impact in the prevention of self harm comes from the family. We work with families to help them understand the nature of self harm and to dispel the myths most people have about it. Our prevention efforts include working with families, schools, community organizations, and pastors to help them identify and work with, or refer at risk teens for help.

^© 2024 Families Renewed, Inc.