Addiction Policy Forum Partners with Michigan State University, Henry Ford Health, and Brown University on New Center
TW: The following content discusses suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, please call, text, or chat the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, and receive confidential support, today.
(Oct. 18, 2022) North Bethesda, MD - Addiction Policy Forum received a grant from the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) to support the creation of the National Center for Health and Justice Integration for Suicide Prevention (NCHATS), a research center meant to build information bridges between healthcare organizations and justice systems to identify individuals at risk for suicide and connect them to care. The center will be led by Michigan State University, Henry Ford Health, and Brown University, with Addiction Policy Forum and 11 other institutions joining the initiative.
In the United States, there is one death by suicide reported every 11 minutes. Additionally, there is an increased risk of suicide in individuals involved in the justice system, with one in three men and one in eight women who died by suicide having spent at least one night in jail in their lifetimes. NCHATS will evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of suicide prevention activities that bridge justice contacts and community care. Specifically, the Center uses contact with the justice system as a novel indicator of suicide risk in the general population, and connects individuals at risk for suicide to community care. The Center includes more than 100 stakeholders, 30 investigators, and 15 institutions.
“The creation of NCHATS will remove a longstanding barrier in suicide prevention by bridging the gap between justice system and healthcare professionals,” said Jessica Hulsey, Founder and Executive Director of Addiction Policy Forum. “By connecting these two groups and establishing an interdisciplinary approach to suicide prevention, we will be able to provide care to vulnerable populations, while simultaneously advancing research in the area of suicide prevention.”
To learn more about the National Center for Health and Justice Integration for Suicide Prevention, click here. With questions regarding Addiction Policy Forum’s involvement, please email info@addictionpolicy.org.