Suicide numbers edging up in Massachusetts
BOSTON — Steve Boczenowski lost his 21-year-old son, Jeffrey, to suicide nearly eight years ago and since then has devoted much of his life to helping parents recognize the warning signs.
The Groton man, who founded the nonprofit group Teenage Anxiety Depression Solutions, travels the state to talk with teachers, school administrators and parents about his experience. He said many parents he encounters don’t want to accept that their child could be at risk for suicide.
“Parents don’t want to think about the fact that their child might have a mental illness,” he said. “They don’t want to talk about it.”
Massachusetts has one of the lowest suicide rates in the nation — a status attributed to the state’s tough gun control laws, access to emergency and mental health care, and years of suicide prevention efforts buttressed by more than $4 million in annual state spending.
Despite those efforts, the number of suicide deaths has been increasing slightly every year for more than a decade, according to a new report by the state Department of Public Health.
In 2014, there were 608 suicides in Massachusetts — more than auto crashes and homicides combined, according to the report. That’s a 3.1 percent rise from the previous year and a 40 percent increase from 2004, when the state started analyzing data on suspected suicides.
In 2004, there were 433 suicide deaths in the state, according the department.
Two years ago, most suicide victims were 35 to 64 years old, and more than three-quarters were men, according to the report.
Among men, nearly one-third of deaths were among those 85 and older, while men ages 45 to 54 represented the second-largest group of male victims.
About 1 in 10 suicide deaths among men in 2014 were committed by those ages 15 to 24.
Among women, the largest group of victims was between ages 45 to 54.
Alan Holmlund, director of the state’s Suicide Prevention Program, said a major concern for health officials is an increase in suicide deaths among middle-age, working men.
“It’s very difficult to get working-age men into treatment,” he said. “They simply don’t seek help on their own. They want see themselves as independent and able to handle things.”
Because of that, the state is focusing more attention on prevention efforts among men. A new state-funded website provides information for men about seeking treatment and offers an anonymous screening to determine if they’re at risk.
“Depression is as treatable, if not more treatable, as heart disease,” Holmlund said.
The most common method of suicide has been hanging or suffocation, representing about half of all deaths. Firearms were used in 1 in 5 suicide cases. Poisoning or intentional drug overdoses represented 17 percent of deaths.
More than half of poisoning deaths involved prescribed pain medications. At least 21 percent of poisoning deaths involved opioids, according the Department of Public Health.
Debbie Helms, director of the Samaritans of Merrimack Valley in Lawrence, which operates a suicide hotline, said its causes are often complex and involve many factors.
“Most of the people who die by suicide have had some kind of mental health and substance abuse problems,” she said. “And they don’t have the coping skills to handle what life is throwing at them, whether it’s a divorce, job loss or other situations. There’s really no one reason.”
Helms, a member of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, points out that the state has the 47th lowest suicide rate in the nation.
The national average in 2015 was 13.8 suicides per 100,000 people. The Massachusetts rate was 9.5 per 100,000 people.
“We have a low rate of suicide comparatively, but it’s still increasing,” she said.
The state spends millions of dollars a year on prevention efforts, much of which goes to nonprofit groups that work with at-risk populations. In his preliminary budget for the next fiscal year, Gov. Charlie Baker proposed $4.1 million in funding for suicide prevention programs.
The Health Department holds an annual, two-day conference at the Statehouse for policymakers, suicide prevention advocates and health care providers to discuss strategies and goals.
Lawmakers are considering several proposals aimed at increasing awareness and prevention.
One proposal, by Sen. Barbara L’Italien, D-Andover, focuses on law enforcement officers who, according to statistics, are more likely to commit suicide than be killed in the line of duty.
The bill was filed on behalf of Janice McCarthy, an Andover women whose husband, Paul, a former State Police captain, died from suicide in 2006. The bill would create a new training program for police to recognize signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal behavior.
“Police are often hesitant to say that they’re stressed out because they’re afraid it might have repercussions,” L’Italien said. “We want to send a signal it’s OK to talk about these things.”
L’Italien, who as a college student volunteered for a suicide prevention hotline, said many people who reach out are often seeking assistance but don’t know where to turn.
“They feel like they’ve lost all hope and they don’t have options,” she said. “Sometimes just having someone on the phone to listen and talk to is enough to turn them around.”
Boczenowski he doesn’t know why suicide numbers are still climbing, but education and prevention are key to ensuring that people get the help they need.
“We really need to reduce the stigma,” he said. “We need to work to reduce that stigma by talking about it and making sure that people get the mental health treatment they need.”
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call the Samaritans crisis help line at (877) 870-4673 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255).
Christian Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for the North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at cwade@cnhi.com.