Building Strategic Partnerships for System-Wide Change
Suicide is a complex health issue impacting a diverse range of communities. Through strategic partnerships, AFSP influences systems change enabling key stakeholders to bring suicide prevention strategies designed to have the most impact within particularly at-risk environments.
Preventing Suicide in Firearms Settings
Firearms account for over half of all suicide deaths in the U.S., and firearm owners encompass every demographic and over 40% of households in the U.S. It is critical we educate as many people as possible about the basics of firearm safety and suicide prevention. In addition to educating the public about safe storage practices — as well as providing suicide prevention education designed for retailers, range owners, and firearm owners — AFSP also has a longstanding ongoing partnership with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Through this partnership, AFSP has helped to distribute over 9,000 suicide prevention toolkits to American Legion posts, including potentially life-saving information about veterans and firearm suicide prevention.
Preventing Suicide in Health Care Systems
Up to 45% of people who die by suicide visit their primary care physician in the month prior to their death — meaning health care providers are uniquely positioned to play a critical role in identifying those at risk for suicide. AFSP is dedicated to empowering health care providers with lifesaving tools and strategies for supporting patients at risk.
Working With Pediatric Health Care Providers to Address Youth Suicide For decades, suicide and suicidal behavior among youth and young adults has become an increasingly urgent public health crisis. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people 10–24 years of age in the U.S — an issue we’re addressing through our ongoing partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Through Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) — a telementoring program designed to create communities of learners by bringing together pediatric health clinicians and experts using didactic and case-based presentations, fostering an “all learn, all teach” approach — we’re able to operationalize the best practices recommended for pediatric clinicians in the Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention. This past year, through our partnership with AAP, we reached 275 pediatric health clinicians — a 10% increase in participants from the previous year. In total, the program has reached 620 pediatric clinicians.
Bringing Suicide Prevention to Health-System Pharmacists In 2025, AFSP partnered with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) to deliver prevention education resources and materials to pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in hospitals, ambulatory clinics, and other health care settings. Through a customized toolkit and Talk Saves Lives webinar, we helped ASHP residents, instructors, and residency program directors to recognize and address mental health challenges among patients, while also equipping residents with tools for self-advocacy and support.
Preventing Suicide in Corrections Systems
Research shows that people who are incarcerated are particularly vulnerable to suicide. Suicide is the number one leading cause of death in jails, and suicide in prisons has increased 30% in recent years.
That’s why AFSP adapted our flagship Talk Saves Lives program to create Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention in the Correctional Environment, a presentation that informs corrections staff on how to create a safer environment for people in custody, while also providing staff with resources to support their own mental health. Through this program, we continue to reach corrections staff by partnering with states to make system-level changes in correctional environments. This past year we were able to reach 2,697 participants across 350 presentations.
