School violence is preventable – especially when students are taught to recognize signs of self-harm and how to effectively seek help for themselves or others. That’s why Sandy Hook Promise strongly supports the newly enacted STANDUP Act.
The bipartisan Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention (STANDUP) Act of 2021, H.R. 586 / S.1543, is a bill designed to encourage states and tribes to implement and expand evidence-based suicide prevention training in schools. The U.S. House and Senate voted unanimously to pass the STANDUP Act and it was recently signed into law by President Biden.
The STANDUP Act adds new requirements to an existing grant program – Project Aware – which was originally created after the Sandy Hook shooting to reduce youth violence.
These new requirements advise states, schools, and tribes to expand access to evidence-based suicide prevention training to every 6th-12th grade student, teaching them how to recognize the warning signs of self-harm and methods on how to seek help for themselves and others.
Research has shown that evidence-based suicide prevention programs and school threat assessment teams have been effective in reducing suicide, interpersonal violence, bullying and aggression, and have lowered expulsion and suspension rates.
Additionally, evidence-based school threat assessment teams have been shown to increase the willingness of students to seek help for threats of violence and mental health.3
Sandy Hook Promise believes that all gun violence, including suicide with a firearm, is preventable.
Nationally, two-thirds of gun deaths are suicide by gun. By working to mitigate and reduce suicide rates through student-based programming, we can also advance our mission to end gun violence and protect our children. By focusing on identifying, intervening, and helping youth who display at-risk behaviors, we can decrease suicide nationwide.
2. Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm
