“When I was six years old, my dad took his own life. For a long time, I didn’t know how to talk about it,” said Sebastian Slovin, member and trainer with the Suicide Prevention Council (SPC), during an SPC press conference in San Diego.

His testimony, shared after remarks by Mercedes Molina—SPC training and outreach consultant and U.S. Navy veteran—on Tuesday, brought the personal reality behind the statistics into focus. “I tried to pretend everything was fine, but that didn’t help my mental health. Later on, I had my own suicidal thoughts and challenges as a teenager.”

Slovin recalled how a trip to Australia allowed him to speak with someone who had gone through a similar experience, motivating him to confront his emotions and become actively involved in suicide prevention.

Today, he leads the organization Nature Unplugged, which focuses on preventive mental health through connection with nature, and is part of the SPC, where he provides training and resources to the community.

Yeni Linqui Palomino, Vice President of Community Health & Engagement at CHIP and the SPC, emphasized that “suicide is preventable” and presented the SPC Report to the Community 2025, which includes data from the past ten years on suicide rates in the county, broken down by age, gender, ethnicity, and region.

In 2024, 377 deaths by suicide were recorded among county residents—a 4% decrease compared to 2020, but a 3% increase compared to 2023. Men ages 70 to 79 and residents of East County had the highest suicide rates, while non-binary, transgender, and LGBTQIA+ youth, as well as unhoused adolescents, showed the highest percentages of suicidal ideation.

Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe, Supervisor for San Diego County’s Fourth District, noted that emergency room visits for suicide attempts were most frequent among girls ages 10 to 17 and Black youth in the central region. “The data tells us where we need to focus our efforts and how we can take action,” she said.

Nadia Privara Brahms, Director of County Behavioral Health Services, presented available resources, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline—available 24/7 in more than 200 languages—and the website 988lifeline.org. She also highlighted programs such as It’s Up to Us (www.uptosd.org), Own Your Mindset, and Talk It Out SD (uptosd.org/own-your-mindset), which provide tools and activities aimed at helping young people strengthen their mental health and learn how to support others. In addition, she emphasized the role of Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRTs), which operate in schools and communities to address mental health emergencies without law enforcement involvement.

Molina detailed SPC training programs, including QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), ASSIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), LGBTQIA+ safe space programs, and trainings for pharmacists. In 2024, the SPC conducted 154 trainings, reaching 2,556 individuals. “The goal is for every person to be able to recognize warning signs and take action, creating networks of support throughout the community,” she said.

“We all have a role to play,” Slovin concluded. “Talking openly, connecting with others, seeking help, and sharing resources can save lives.”