North Dakota Health and Human Services (NDHHS) recently released a Suicide Prevention and Response Toolkit for Schools. This is a comprehensive resource that assists schools in preventing suicide through the implementation of specific strategies and response protocols. It aims to strengthen prevention and support the mental health of students. This is important, because in North Dakota 13,000 adolescents aged 12-17 experience a major depressive episode each year and 8,000 have serious thoughts of suicide each year (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
Helpful for families, the toolkit has signs and behaviors to look for with regard to your child’s demeanor, ways to stay connected, and how to develop protective factors that can help protect your child from suicide. The link for the toolkit can be found at: https://www.parentslead.org/schools/suicide-prevention-toolkit
Our Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) also assist our military-connected children, public school students, and homeschool students. Specifically, they utilize and share techniques and strategies to improve our youth’s behavioral health. According to Minot AFB’s MFLC Activity Report data from August 2024 to June 2025, our school-based MFLC supported our students in three top areas: communication, social skills issues, and transition/adjustment (Data Warehouse). Military-connected students move, on average, six to nine times throughout their educational careers, so I am not surprised they needed support in the latter area. Regarding the former, our MFLC’s communication with our students—coupled with your enhanced knowledge and understanding of suicide-prevention—is something worth investing time in, because now is all the time that’s guaranteed.
The information in this article is provided as a resource and does not constitute endorsement by Minot AFB, the United States Air Force, or the Department of Defense of the external website, or the information, products, or services contained therein.
The information in this article is provided as a resource and does not constitute endorsement by Minot AFB, the United States Air Force, or the Department of Defense of the external website, or the information, products, or services contained therein.
