{"id":34104,"date":"2025-07-08T10:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T17:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/?p=34104"},"modified":"2025-07-08T10:10:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T17:10:44","slug":"college-of-medicine-hosts-youth-suicide-education-and-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/08\/college-of-medicine-hosts-youth-suicide-education-and-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"College of Medicine Hosts Youth Suicide Education and Prevention Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine hosted a Youth Suicide Education and Prevention Summit, the first of its kind, last month at the Spokane Tribe\u2019s Mistequa Casino in Chewelah, Washington, a powerful demonstration of community collaboration and commitment to addressing the urgent issue of youth mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event brought together more than 70 educators, health care professionals, first responders, Tribal leaders, policymakers, and families. Organized by WSU College of Medicine Professor and psychiatrist Matt Layton, MD, PhD, the summit was designed as a catalyst for change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe called it a summit intentionally,\u201d said Dr. Layton. \u201cIt\u2019s a meeting of leaders\u2014Tribal, rural, urban, academic, and legislative\u2014coming together to address a crisis that affects every community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was made possible through a $40,000 gift from SMILE, a youth suicide prevention nonprofit founded by Ted and Christie Toribara after the loss of their son Craig. As SMILE winds down its operations this year, the organization has chosen to invest its remaining funds in sustainable, community-driven initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSMILE has believed in WSU,\u201d Dr. Layton said. \u201cThey\u2019ve trusted us to carry this work forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The summit is part of a broader initiative that includes a peer-to-peer mentorship program<\/a> launched last year in Stevens County schools. Funded by an additional $80,000 from SMILE, the program trains high school students to mentor younger peers on topics like emotional regulation, healthy behaviors, and mental health awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to utilize peer pressure, let\u2019s make it positive,\u201d Dr. Layton said. \u201cLet\u2019s empower students to say, \u2018I\u2019m worried about you, and I\u2019ll help you get help.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The summit featured breakout sessions on five key topics: access to mental health and substance use treatment, educational system challenges, government policy, creative youth support strategies, and the impact of social media. Participants were encouraged to share ideas and identify actionable steps to take back to their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey Sung, MD, a nationally recognized expert in suicide prevention and a former psychiatry resident trained by Dr. Layton, delivered the keynote address. Attendees also gained access to up to seven hours of additional training materials developed by Dr. Sung, extending the summit\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Layton emphasized the importance of breaking down stigma and encouraging open conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople get hung up on taboo subjects,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the truth is, most people are relieved to talk about it. You don\u2019t have to have all the answers\u2014you just need to care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The summit also highlighted the importance of early intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe data shows that suicide rates among eight to 12-year-olds are rising rapidly. We can\u2019t wait until high school to start these conversations,\u201d Dr. Layton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summit participants plan to use insights from the event to launch Phase 2 of the initiative: supporting local communities in implementing suicide prevention strategies and advocating for policy changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is about building long-term relationships and showing communities that we\u2019re here to help,\u201d Layton said. \u201cWe want to lay the groundwork for real, lasting change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\tSupport the Initiative\t\t\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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If you are in crisis, please call, text, or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n\n

Featured Faculty<\/h2>\n\n\n
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<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Held in Chewelah, Washington, the summit was a powerful demonstration of community collaboration and commitment to addressing the urgent issue of youth mental health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25158,"featured_media":34141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[107,40,35,29],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34104"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34104"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34145,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34104\/revisions\/34145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34104"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=34104"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=34104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}