Suicide Prevention Month: Strengthening Behavioral Health Supports

Behavioral health is important to overall health and well-being. This Suicide Prevention Month is an opportunity to highlight ACL's ongoing work to address depression, substance use, social isolation, and other factors that can affect mental health and suicide risk among older adults and people with disabilities.

For example, recent ACL Chronic Disease Self-Management Education grant awards support the integration of behavioral health into chronic disease programs. Grant-funded projects incorporate behavioral health screening and referrals and train counselors to screen for substance use alongside disease management support. Others screen participants for depression and connect them with in-home services that research shows can reduce symptoms of depression.

ACL also supports behavioral health through The Link Center. The Center works to improve access to effective services and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and other cognitive disabilities who also have mental health conditions. This October, The Link Center will offer shared learning groupsfocused on suicide prevention. Sessions will cover topics like how to recognize warning signs and risk factors and to identify strategies for ongoing support.

More broadly, ACL and the aging and disability networks help older adults and people with disabilities connect to their communities, services and supports, and to one another. These connections can help promote health, independence, and overall well-being while reducing social isolation - important parts of behavioral health and suicide prevention efforts.

Looking ahead, May 2027 will be the 10th anniversary of Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day. ACL will co-host the annual symposium, which will have the theme, "A Decade of Impact: Connection, Understanding, and Action." ACL will share information about the virtual event in the coming months.