• The suicide rate in New Mexico (NM) was at least 50% higher than the U.S. rate. Over the past decade, suicides increased in NM by 33% compared to the U.S. increase of 21% in 2016.
• In 2015, suicide was the second leading cause of death for persons 10-49 years.  Whites and American Indians had the highest rates of suicide in New Mexico.  The suicide rate for males was more than three times that of females. Rural counties had higher suicide rates compared to metropolitan counties.  Just over half of those who died by suicide from 2011-2015 in New Mexico used a firearm.
• In 2016 the number of suicides in New Mexico dropped to 469 from 498 in 2015. The 2016 rate of 22.2 per 100,000 residents represents a 6% decrease from the previous year’s rate of 23.5 per 100,000.
• In FY17, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) focused on suicide gatekeeper and postvention trainings to community members and school personnel.  Media guidelines for safe reporting and messaging about suicide have been incorporated in published material.
• The Epidemiology and Response Division Injury and Behavioral Epidemiology Bureau (IBEB) is developing a process for identifying and intervening in suicide attempt clusters using syndromic surveillance of emergency department admissions for self-inflicted injury which will enable IBEB to direct prevention efforts.
• IBEB was successful this quarter (3rd) in presenting county-based suicidal data presentation to an at-risk community. However, due to temporary limitations in resources IBEB was not able to train 17 community members in evidence-based suicide prevention practices (EBSPP). 
• IBEB with a dedicated staff member to training will collaborate with NMDOH Public Health Division to train community members in EBSPP to be on track for the 4th quarter milestone.

• NMDOH
• National Alliance on Mental Illness NM
• NM Crisis and Action Line
• Southern NM Suicide Prevention & Survivors Support Coalition
• NM Injury Prevention Coalition
• NM Human Services Department, Behavioral Health Services Division
• NM Children, Youth, and Families Department
• Office of the Medical Examiner
• University of New Mexico, Center for Rural and Community Behavioral Health
• Agora Crisis Center
• County Health Councils
• Crisis Response of Santa Fe
• Local school districts and schools
• Regional local Behavioral Health Collaboratives
• Sky Center

• Community Interventions
  • Gatekeeper training
  • Crisis intervention (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline)
  • Reducing access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide
  • Parenting skill and family relationship programs
  • Community engagement activities
  • Postvention
  • Safe reporting/messaging about suicide (Media guidelines)
• Clinical interventions
  • Treatment for people at risk of suicide
  • Treatment to prevent re-attempts (Emergency Department Brief intervention with Follow-up Visits)
• School-based Interventions
  • Peer norm programs
  • Social-emotional learning programs
• Organizational Interventions
  • Safer suicide care through systems change
  • Organizational policies and culture
• Policy Interventions
  • Strengthening household financial security
  • Housing stabilization policies
  • Coverage of mental health conditions in insurance policies
  • Reducing provider shortages in underserved areas
  • Community-based policies to reduce excessive alcohol use

• Gatekeeper training to identify and support people at risk.
• Community engagement activities (via county-based data presentations)  to promote a sense of being joined.
• Safe reporting and messaging about suicide  to lessen harms and prevent future risk.

Epidemiology and Response Division, Injury and Behavior Epidemiology Bureau (IBEB) will work to increase the number of community members trained in evidence-based suicide prevention practices to the FY18 target of 50 by:

• Q1: Train 5 community members in an evidence-based suicide prevention program: Not completed. Give one county-based suicidal behaviors data presentation to an identified at-risk community: Completed.
• Q2: Train 10 community members in an evidence-based suicide prevention program. Incomplete- Delay in hiring of suicide prevention coordinator but now onboard and will be on track for Q3 and remainder of FY18. Give one county-based suicidal behaviors data presentation to an identified at-risk community. Completed- Presentation provided for statewide and regional (Soutwest) county data reflecting recently-updated mental health indicators at the Southwest Region Health Council Quarterly meeting in Las Cruces.  Meeting was attended by about 35, including regional Health Promotion Specialists and Health Council Coordinators, representing those counties with historically high suicide rates (Sierra, Grant, Hidalgo, Catron), as well as representatives from grant funding organizations. 
• Q3: Train 17 community members in an evidence-based suicide prevention program. Incomplete. Give one county-based suicidal behaviors data presentation to an identified at-risk community. Complete.
• Q4: Train 18 community members in an evidence-based suicide prevention program. Give one county-based suicidal behaviors data presentation to an identified at-risk community.