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The home for VPR's coverage of health and health industry issues affecting the state of Vermont.

What Vermont Can Do To Curb The High Rate Of Suicides

Vermont's suicide rate is among the highest in New England. The map above, using CDC data, shows Vermont's overall youth suicide rate between 2005 and 2016 was among the highest in the country.
CDC
Vermont's suicide rate is among the highest in New England. The map above, using CDC data, shows Vermont's overall youth suicide rate between 2005 and 2016 was among the highest in the country.

Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in Vermont, claiming more lives every year than car accidents in our state. And Vermont's young people die by suicide at one of the highest rates in the country. We're talking with doctors and researchers about effective suicide prevention. 

Dr. Rebecca Bell, a pediatric critical care physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center who monitors youth suicide, and Thomas Delaney, assistant professor at UVM's Larner College of Medicine department of pediatrics who studies suicide prevention, join Vermont Edition to looking at the data on suicides in Vermont and discuss effective interventions and prevention.

We'll talk about legislation focused on suicide prevention through new gun laws, like a 72-hour waiting period for gun sales and so-called "safe storage" requirements for firearms.

And we'll hear from Richard Fales, a suicide survivor who now works with Rutland Mental Health Services as a peer support specialist.

There is help if you or someone you know is considering suicide:

Broadcast live on Monday, Feb. 18, 2019 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Matt Smith worked for Vermont Public from 2017 to 2023 as managing editor and senior producer of Vermont Edition.
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