Life Works Guam: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) Suicide Prevention Program and Rainbows for All Children Guam
Contact: Marie Virata Halloran
Phone: 671-632-0257
University of Guam, I Pinangon, Campus Suicide Prevention Program
Phone: 671-735-2888/9
Address: I Pinangon Campus Suicide Prevention Program
Division of Social & Behavioral Sciences
College of Liberal Art & Social Sciences
UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923
Email: i_pinangon@yahoo.com
Web Site: http://www.uogsuicideprevention.org
Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse
CRISIS HOTLINE:
647-8833
Phone:: 477-9079 through 9083
OTHER LOCAL AND NATIONAL HOTLINES:
Local Emergency: 911
Sanctuary Hotline: (671) 475-7100
Suicide Hotline: 1-800-621-4000
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
The goals of Guam's Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLSMA) Youth Suicide Prevention grant, also called Focus on Life are to:
Establish and/or improve Guam's surveillance and centralized monitoring and reporting system for capturing data on suicide attempts and deaths, as well as other intentional self-harming that is reportable by identified private and public sector partners;
Strengthen public, private and community-based partnerships with the development of culturally relevant suicide prevention resources and training for responding effectively to the community's identified needs for suicide prevention and education, early intervention, and treatment services;
Strengthen Guam's 24-Hour Crisis Hotline services with the hiring of full-time staff and recruitment and training of community volunteers;
Implement culturally appropriate evidence-based suicide prevention policies, programs and practices among Guam's key stakeholders; and
Evaluate the program effectiveness to reduce preventable injuries and suicides and attempts on Guam.
Suicide on Guam is a taboo subject and is not openly discussed or acknowledged even among family members who have intimate knowledge of a suicide and related circumstances. Deaths by suicide are doggedly explained by surviving family members (who feel a great sense of shame and failure) as “terminal illnesses” and/or “accidents”. This sense of imposed secrecy by family leaders among other members perpetuates the current problem and places great challenges in prevention and early intervention efforts.
Governor of Guam Felix P. Camacho approved Guam’s Focus on Life – State Plan for Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention and calls upon his PEACE Council and Guam’s State Epidemiological Workgroup to work collaboratively with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse to prevent further suicides.
The Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Prevention & Training Branch is hosting support groups every Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the PEACE office in Hagatna, J&G Ada’s Commercial Center, Bldg. F, 2nd Floor. Individuals and families bereaving a suicide loss can join to learn ways to prevent further suicide attempts or loss. The support groups are open to youth, adults and families that have experienced a suicide loss.
Life Works Guam Contact Person: Marie Halloran
P.O. Box 22635 GMF Barrigada, Guam 96921 Phone: 477-3574 | 632-0257 | 483-0257 Fax: 637-0004 rainbows@yahoo.com
What We Currently Know On Guam:
For each statistical number documented about suicide attempts and suicide on Guam, we must always keep in mind that each number is about a person; a person with a family, friends, co-workers, classmates and acquaintances. That person had a story about his or her life, the places of education, work, travel, and lived. These individual stories can provide opportunities for us to learn some of the answers to the What, Why, Who, Where and When questions and perhaps in research, help us to prevent additional suicides from occurring.
Guam endures a disturbingly high rate of suicide among its youth and adult population. The Guam Police Department (GPD) reported unofficially that for the months of January 1, 2007 through November 30, 2007, twenty-nine (29) deaths by suicide and sixty-one (61) attempts were investigated. Guam’s rate of suicide peaked at 28.2 per 100,000 in 1999. In general, the rates of suicide in Guam averaged 19.7 per 100,000 persons over the age of 10 years, from 1997 to 2007 (DPHSS, Guam).
The results of the 2007 Guam High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicated that girls were more likely than boys to have had suicidal ideations (28.0% vs. 16.6%), a suicide plan (27.5% vs. 15.9%), or made suicide attempts (21.3% vs. 12.2%). Chamorro students had the highest percentage (34.0%) of actual attempts of suicide, followed by 28.8% of students with multiple ethnicities, and Filipino students at 13.6%. uam averaged 19.7 per 100,000 persons over the age of 10 years, from 1997 to 2007 (DPHSS, Guam).
Warning Signs:
Seek help as soon as possible by contacting a mental health professional or by calling the National Prevention Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK if you or someone you know exhibits any of the following signs:
Threatening to hurt or kill oneself or talking, about wanting to hurt or kill oneself
Looking for ways to kill oneself by seeking access to firearms, available pills, or other means
Talking or writing about death, dying, or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person
Feeling hopeless
Feeling rage or uncontrolled anger or seeking revenge
Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities - seemingly without thinking
Feeling trapped - lilke there's no way out
Increasing alcohol or drug use
Withdrawing from friends, family, and society
Feeling anxious, agitated, or unable to sleep or sleeping all the time
Experiencing dramatic mood changes
Seeing no reason for living or having no sense of purpose in life
Funding of this website was made possible by the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (#5 U79 SP11183-03) from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written materials or publications do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commerial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
The goals of Guam's Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLSMA) Youth Suicide Prevention grant, also called Focus on Life are to:
