The Department of Social Services has held a Suicide Prevention Convention the past 3 years.
This year’s convention looks back on a five-year plan and the progress made so far.
The DSS began the conference with a moment of silence, remembering those family members, friends, and loved ones lost forever.
Although discussions are had with heavy hearts, pain and difficulty, members are reminded that hope exists today and tomorrow.
In January 2020, the state began a five-year plan focusing on suicide prevention. In the program’s fifth year, suicide deaths are trending down.
Officials said 202 individuals died by suicide in 2021. South Dakota currently has the eighth highest suicide rate in the nation.
Melissa Magstadt is the state Secretary of Health. She said at the Sioux Falls convention that although the fact deaths are going down is encouraging – it’s not enough.
"This year we’ve only lost 180. And it’s really hard when we’re looking at this data because we had this sense of ‘oh we’re trending downward, that’s fantastic!’ But we still lost 180 people. Right?" Magstadt said. "In our trending downward sort of pieces, we decided to look at this [as] celebrating lives saved, honoring lives lost. Most states are continuing to see a rise in suicide rates, and I don’t wanna see it happen for South Dakota. We’re not out of the woods yet by any means."
She said individuals at the highest risk in South Dakota are Native Americans.
“The stat that breaks my heart the most: it’s 2.7 times higher for our Native Americans. If there is a population that is suffering disparities in our state, it is absolutely our Native Americans. They’re seeing it in suicide rates, they’re seeing it in opioid, they’re seeing it in maternal mortality rates, infant mortality rates,” Magstadt said.
But, both DSS and Magstadt said there’s hope. The state suicide hotline, 988, has shown dramatic caller increase. Since switching to the new number two years ago, the line has increased by 300% in calls.
The state legislature allotted $2,000,000 to suicide prevention this past legislative session.
The state is also working on a new five-year plan to further suicide prevention in South Dakota.
If you or a loved one are suffering from suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 at any hour of the day.
You can also call or text 911, and 211 - the state's helpline number.
