Youth Suicide Prevention Projects

The CDPH’s Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) is administering the following two new youth suicide prevention projects as part of the CalHHS-sponsored Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI):

The Youth Suicide Prevention Media and Outreach Campaign
The Youth Suicide Reporting and Crisis Response Pilot Program

New 2023 Annual Highlight Sheet (PDF) — provides updates on the accomplishments for our two youth suicide prevention programs in 2023.

CYBHI 2023 Annual Report (PDF) — This report features updates on our two Youth Suicide Prevention Projects: the Youth Suicide Prevention Media and Outreach Campaign and the Youth Suicide Reporting and Crisis Response Pilot Program.

Youth Suicide Prevention Media and Outreach Campaign

The Youth Suicide Prevention Media and Outreach Campaign was established through one-time funding in the Governor’s 2022–2023 Budget to develop and implement a data-driven, targeted, community-based youth suicide prevention media and outreach campaign for youth at increased risk of suicide.

The campaign, Never a Bother, officially launched in March 2024 with a website, social media channels, and ongoing advertising campaign, premiered at a community event in Auburn, California with campaign partner, Sierra Native Alliance. Visit the Never a Bother website for youth and caregiver resources on how to support youth before, during, and after a crisis.

Project Components

Populations of Focus

The campaign will reach young people across California and their parents, caregivers and allies, with a focus on youth who are American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN), African American/Black, and Hispanic/Latinx. These groups were selected due to having the highest suicide rate, suicide count and increase in suicide rate respectively between 2016 and 2021.  A portion of the funding was set aside for rural communities to ensure priority populations in both rural and urban areas are served. The Campaign and Outreach efforts will also apply an intersectional lens, recognizing the complexity of challenges people face due to overlapping identities and experiences. This includes youth who:

Identify as a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) community.
Experience mental health conditions and/or substance use.
Have been impacted by the foster care system.

Media Campaign

Never a Bother is a campaign to prevent suicide among youth and young adults up to age 25, in California.

In this campaign, we’re telling youth experiencing thoughts of suicide that they’re never a bother when reaching out to friends, trusted adults, and other types of support (such as 988). At the same time, we’re asking peer and adult allies to make sure young people in their lives know they are there for them and can reach out for help anytime.

All aspects of Never a Bother have been co-created with youth, resulting in a multicultural and multilingual campaign that increases awareness of mental health resources and promotes help-seeking behaviors. The Never a Bother concept was co-created with and selected by youth based on its welcoming feel, visual appeal, and messaging that authentically validates youth at risks’ experiences and state of mind with clear encouragement to reach out for support before, during, and after a crisis

Community partner toolkits, fact sheets, palm cards, posters, and other resources can be found on the Get Involved page.

Civilian Agency has been selected as the media contractor for this campaign.

Youth-Serving Organization Outreach Projects

To complement the Media Campaign, youth-serving community-based organizations (CBOs) and tribal entities across the State have been awarded grants up to $500,000 per recipient over a 2-year period to:

Engage youth in a co-creation process for all aspects of the Media Campaign.

Promote the Campaign as trusted messengers within populations disproportionately impacted by youth suicide.
Implement community-level evidence-based suicide prevention strategies (as described in, but not limited to, the CDC’s Preventing Suicide Technical Package), which will amplify and build upon campaign messages.

The Center at the Sierra Health Foundation has been selected as the implementation partner to oversee the CBO/Tribal Outreach Projects. Visit The Center’s Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign webpage for a list of funded organizations and project descriptions.

External Evaluation

UCLA's Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL) has been selected to serve as an independent evaluator of the Youth Suicide Prevention Media and Outreach Campaign.

UCLA will conduct internal evaluation throughout the project period, including a final report to identify best practices and replicable efforts.

Youth Suicide Reporting and Crisis Response Pilot Program

The Youth Suicide Reporting and Crisis Response Pilot Program was established through one-time funding in the Governor’s 2022–2023 Budget to develop and test models for making youth suicide and attempted suicide reportable events. The pilot will also support models for rapidly and comprehensively responding to these events by providing crisis services and follow-up support in school and community settings.

Project Components

Pilot Program Counties

The following ten counties were identified as high priority and invited to participate in the pilot program:

Alameda, El Dorado, Humboldt, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Joaquin and Solano.

County prioritization criteria included the number of self-harm incidents that led to an emergency department (ER) visit or hospitalization, count and rate of suicide per county for ages 10 to 24 years old from 2018–2020, rural versus urban consideration to help ensure geographic parity, and measures of diversity to support health equity.

In Year 2, pilot counties:

Finalized implementation plans
Completed initial self-assessments
Completed evaluation activity surveys
Attended the 1^st Annual In-Person Grantee Meeting in Carlsbad, CA

Pilot program counties are continuing to implement activities, focusing on developing local-level evaluation plans. By June 2024, all counties will have completed system mapping and identifying gaps related to their reporting and crisis response systems.

Training and Technical Assistance

The Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS) has been selected to serve as the training and technical assistance contractor for this pilot project.

In Year 2, CARS began providing individualized support to assist pilot counties in establishing, improving, and expanding their efforts to report and respond to youth suicides and suicide attempts through:

Community of Practice (CoP) sessions
Topical Modules
Skill-building webinars
In-person Technical Assistance Site Visits

Visit CARS' project website for a list of pilot counties and resources.

External Evaluation

UCLA’s Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL) has been selected to serve as an independent evaluator of the Youth Suicide Reporting and Crisis Response Pilot Program.

UCLA will conduct internal evaluation throughout the project period, producing a final report specific to suicide reporting and crisis response efforts.