Over the last decade, Alaska’s adolescent suicide rate has been steadily increasing and is now about three times higher than the national average. Suicide is currently the leading cause of death in Alaska for young people age 12 to 19. Youth suicide prevention advocate Justin Pendergrass shares his journey through abuse, addiction and mental health and how those experiences led him to work on the frontlines of teen suicide prevention.
HOST: Prentiss Pemberton
GUESTS:
- Justin Pendergrass, mental health advocate, MyHouse Mat Su
LINKS & RESOURCES:
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
- Suicide Prevention Resource Center – Alaska
- NPR: Suicide Rates Climb In U.S., Especially Among Adolescent Girls
- Youth.gov: Suicide Prevention
- 7 Essential Steps Parents Can Take to Prevent Teen Suicide
PARTICIPATE:
- Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (10–11 a.m.)
- Send email to lineone@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (e-mails may be read on air)
- Post your comment or question below (comments may be read on air)
LIVE BROADCAST: Wednesday, March 10, 2020, at 10 a.m. AKDT
REPEAT BROADCAST: Wednesday, March 10, 2020, at 8 p.m. AKDT
LINE ONE’S FAVORITE HEALTH AND SCIENCE LINKS:
- Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic offer extensive health information libraries
- MedlinePlus has a guide to finding reliable health information on the internet
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI)
- Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit and common logical fallacies
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Prentiss Pemberton is a host of Line One: Your Health Connection at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at lineone@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Prentiss here.
