In Spain, more than 4,200 suicides are recorded per year, a reality that mainly affects young people between 15 and 24 years old. 90% of people with suicidal intentions communicate this before carrying it out.
This reality is even more aggravated in the group of people in a situation of homelessness. 45.2% of people in this situation present a high risk of suicide and 24.7% have made a self-harm attempt. In addition, a third of the youth population in a situation of homelessness has self-harming behaviors.
These are some of the data collected in the Suicide Prevention Protocol prepared by the homelessness team of Suara Cooperativa, which aims to be a tool so that people who work in these resources can prevent, detect and act on suicide attempts and which we present on this World Day for Suicide Prevention, which is celebrated on September 10.
In this context, the protocol includes different strategies that can help prevent suicide, such as: promoting a sense of belonging in a group, involving the person being treated in decision-making, fostering self-esteem and confidence, creating effective bonds, generating training and work opportunities, as well as enabling spaces for emotional and cultural expression, among others.
How to act when a person verbalizes that they no longer want to live
This protocol also details how to act when a person verbalizes that they want to take their own life or presents symptoms that may indicate that they have these intentions, such as the verbal expressions of the person being treated and, especially, if they show a lack of desire to live or hopelessness. Other symptoms may be behavioral changes such as increased drug use, social isolation or sudden mood swings.
In this case, it is essential to show calm, hope and security while looking for anchoring elements for the person, as well as convincing them to postpone the idea and focus on their situation as a temporary problem that does not deserve an eternal solution.
It is also important to create spaces for active listening to the person so that they can express their reality, situation and emotions with complete freedom without feeling judged; as well as proposing activities that require immediate actions such as meetings.
In these situations, it is essential to communicate the case with other professionals who are the person being treated, such as their doctor, to jointly develop a safety plan, which you can find in the same protocol.
Finally, it also includes how to act in the event of an imminent suicide attempt. Mainly, the person being treated cannot be left alone, the intervention must be carried out by only one person from the team and 112 must be called.
People in a situation of homelessness are those who are at a greater risk of social exclusion and, therefore, we must take special care. Therefore, on this World Day for Suicide
Prevention, from Suara Cooperativa we want to share this protocol that we think can be a useful tool for all professionals who work in homelessness services.
If you want to learn more about the protocol, you can find it at this link.
