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National TO SAVE A LIFE Week Announced to Touch 1 Million Lives With a Message of Hope for Hurting Teens

September 6-12 Events Planned to Prevent Suicides and Other Teen Tragedies as School Resumes

OCEANSIDE, Calif., July 29 /PRNewswire/ — During the week of September 6-12, corresponding with National Suicide Prevention Week, New Song Pictures and Outreach Films, the creators of the #1 faith-based film of 2010 To Save A Life plan to use the movie as a vehicle to save lives and inspire teens to reach out to their communities and engage with the hurting and lonely in their midst.

Since its theatrical release in January, To Save A Life has impacted over 600,000 teens, youth workers, coaches, pastors and parents who viewed the film in theaters. Thousands have written in to the To Save A Life Web site (ToSaveALifeMovie.com/stories) to share their response to the film. And just under 160,000 have created an active community on the To Save A Life Facebook page sharing their compelling and often heartbreaking personal stories, and supporting each other as they navigate the challenges of life.

Topically, the film fearlessly tackles a number of subjects that teens confront on a daily basis, including depression, suicide, bullying, teen pregnancy, cutting, substance abuse and body image.  High school is a much more challenging place than it was just a few years ago, and teens need help and guidance in navigating these challenges.

Because of this, the teams at Outreach have set an objective of seeing one million lives touched during this week through the hosting of To Save A Life events and movie screenings across America.

The concept is simple. During this week, churches, families, pastors, teachers, coaches, mentors and teens themselves are encouraged to invite their friends to watch To Save A Life with them. The goal is to have the film shown in over 10,000 locations, where every teen in America can see the movie either in a church, home, store, classroom, auditorium or theater.

Afterwards, participants are challenged to go to the next level. It’s not enough to just talk about the change you want to see—To Save A Life Week is about action, and viewers are encouraged to be a catalyst for this change. Some students may start a “Lunch Club” to help befriend the lonely kids in their school. Some may start actively inviting new people to their youth group or club meetings. Others may plan events with experts or mentors who can help teens navigate the challenges in their lives. A new school year is never easy for teens in crisis—To Save A Life Week can help ease some of these tensions while providing a solid message of hope for those who are hurting. Read More

Every day, 14 teens take their own lives

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new report showing an 8% rise in suicide among youths, the largest one-year increase in 15 years. Additionally, teen suicides by hanging/suffocation and poisoning have risen dramatically. The news is a somber reminder of the importance of youth suicide-prevention efforts.

CDC - Most people are uncomfortable with the topic of suicide. Too often, victims are blamed, and their families and friends are left stigmatized. As a result, people do not communicate openly about suicide. Thus an important public health problem is left shrouded in secrecy, which limits the amount of information available to those working to prevent suicide. The good news is that research over the last several decades has uncovered a wealth of information on the causes of suicide and on prevention strategies.

UPI.com-Almost 10 percent of drug-related U.S. emergency room visits involved teen suicide attempts — 72 percent by female teens, U.S. health officials

say.

A study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration finds the drug-related hospital emergency department visit by an adolescent as a suicide attempt is double the rate of those age 25 and older.

Prescription drugs were involved in more than 9 out of 10 of these drug-related suicide attempt cases, but there were differences in the drugs used by different age groups and genders.

For example, acetaminophen was the most commonly used substance involved in hospital emergency department visits by female adolescents attempting suicide — 28.5 percent — while 49.9 percent of females age 25 or older used anti-anxiety drugs.

Similarly, adolescent males admitted for drug-related suicides were more than three times as likely to have used anti-psychotic drugs compared with 14.3 percent of their female counterparts.

More than 90.2 percent of teens who sought hospital treatment for attempted suicide with antidepressants

received follow-up care, but 52.4 percent of adolescent cases involving ibuprofen received therapy. More than 83 percent of the cases involving adolescents using alcohol received follow-up care, but 59.4 percent of alcohol-related cases among those age 25 got treatment for alcohol, the study said.