News
SCETV Kicks Off “Facing Suicide” Initiative with Community Listening Session
Press ReleaseSouth Carolina ETV (SCETV) kicked off an initiative to address concerns around rising suicide rates of adolescents in South Carolina with a virtual community listening session on April 18th in partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Mid-Carolina. The listening session is the first event funded by a grant from Twin Cities PBS (TBT) to support a multi-platform production and community engagement initiative to inform, illuminate and activate suicide prevention strategies for vulnerable populations.
In February 2022, TPT awarded a total of $165,000 in grants to 10 PBS stations to create suicide prevention initiatives in their communities. The grants will empower stations to work with local and national partners to share evidence-based suicide prevention approaches and resources with their communities and will amplify the messages of the Facing Suicide documentary, which will premiere nationally on PBS in 2022.
Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the Facing Suicide initiative will harness the power of public media to destigmatize the topic of suicide and equip friends and family to take appropriate action when someone close to them may be at risk. Grant recipients will share suicide prevention practices and will amplify the documentary’s messaging around awareness, help, and hope.
Continuing SCETV’s successful and Emmy-winning endeavors on health, the station will collaborate with community-based partners and statewide organizations to produce multiplatform content that will inform, illuminate, and activate South Carolina citizens around the topics of suicide.
Throughout 2022, this initiative will leverage existing partnerships and foster new ones to create a safe space for dialogue and engagement around suicide prevention:
- Listening sessions will be hosted across the state in collaboration with local partners to hear community perspectives on the topic and will be facilitated by local universities, K12 stakeholders, and health-care experts. The primary emphasis will be rural communities where suicide rates are the highest.
- In Summer 2022, Town Halls will be held at two of the SCETV regional stations. Town Halls will be held in person and will also be livestreamed via social media to engage with communities across the state. In conjunction with the Town Halls, a series of workshops will also be held for families and youth in rural communities around suicide prevention.
- In September 2022, SCETV will host a panel discussion around suicide prevention for multi-platform broadcast. The panel will be produced as part of a screening event from SCETV headquarters in Columbia.
- A campaign around suicide prevention featuring prominent South Carolinians will be created and shared via digital and on-air platforms.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in South Carolina. Nationally, the state ranks 24th in the nation for deaths by suicide. Additional data from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that suicide is highest among the most rural communities in the state and was the third leading cause of death among those aged 10-24.
If you or someone you know are in crisis, or experiencing thoughts of suicide, text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741), or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For more information on the Facing Suicide Initiative, visit the Facing Suicide page of the SCETV website.
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