3 Ways to Prevent Suicide Death

by Anissa Durham, Word In Black

Word In Black’s health reporter shares three things she’s learned in the last three years of reporting to prevent suicide deaths.

Every September, we mark National Suicide Prevention Month, and after nearly four years reporting on mental health in the Black community, I know we can’t afford to stop talking about it. I’ve also seen how dangerous the mix of misinformation, stigma, and sensationalized coverage can be — especially when the focus is on how someone died instead of how we stop it from happening.

I get it. I remember being a teenager when Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” sparked a national conversation about suicide. Today, it doesn’t take much scrolling to find graphic images or videos of people harming themselves on social media. But for all the headlines and hashtags, too much about suicide — especially in Black and Brown communities — remains unsaid.

That silence is dangerous. Instead of glamorizing death or offering only thoughts and prayers, we need to ask a harder question: How do we actually prevent suicide? That’s the question I’ve asked mental health journalists and experts. And it’s pushed me to dig deeper into why suicide has become a growing mental health crisis in many Black and Brown communities. 

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