Preventing suicide may seem like a difficult goal to achieve, and this important work does take time. However, it begins with a small step: a conversation. In fact, the 2025 theme for Suicide Prevention Month is “Start a conversation. Be the difference.”
Talking openly about suicide, from warning signs to safety planning, can go a long way toward helping people get support when they need it.
Since 2008, September has been recognized as Suicide Prevention Month. This month focuses on raising awareness about signs of suicide and ways to find and share resources. Suicide Prevention Month also creates space for people with lived experience of suicide-related thoughts and behaviors or suicide loss to share their stories.
The stories below come from the Washington State Suicide Plan, updated in 2025. The plan provides in-depth detail about suicide data, risk and protective factors, and strategies for preventing suicide. It also highlights several stories from people in Washington working to prevent suicide in their communities.
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