Suicides surge in Black communities as well as among Black veterans

BY STEPHANIE GADLIN THE CRUSADER PULSE

After a brief decline early in the pandemic, suicide deaths are climb ing again nationwide and new data show sharp increases among Black Americans, especially youth, while veterans continue to die at rates above the national aver age. Experts say the trend calls for culturally specific prevention, stronger community support and urgent attention to physical and environ mental drivers that too often go unaddressed.

The Centers for Dis ease Control and Pre vention (CDC) reported suicide rates for people aged 10–24 rose significantly among Black persons, from 8.2 to 11.2 per 100,000 during 2018 2021 — a 36.6 percent increase that public health officials describe as alarming. The CDC links the rise to a web of stressors, including economic strain, com munity violence, racism, and worsening mental health indicators during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Locally, Chicago mirrors the national picture. The Chicago Department of Public Health reported 220 suicide deaths among city residents in 2023; three quarters of those deaths were male, and African American residents accounted for roughly 25 percent of suicides, while non-Latinx white residents accounted for 52 percent. Public health leaders add that suicides occur across all ages, but the spike among Black youth demands particular attention.

Veterans remain a distinct high-risk group. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report found 6,407 veteran suicides in 2022 and estimated an average of 17.6 veteran suicides per day that year. The VA’s report, which analyzes data through 2022, shows veterans’ suicide rates remain well above the general adult population and highlights risk factors such as chronic pain, sleep problems, declining physical ability and firearm access.

“Our top clinical prior ity is preventing veteran suicide,” Matthew Miller, executive director of VA Suicide Prevention, said in a news release. He urged a “whole-of community” approach that includes promoting secure firearm storage, expanding crisis services and strengthening partnerships with local organizations to reach veterans where they live.

Those in veteran advocacy stress that physical illnesses linked to military service can com pound despair. Cristina Johnson, a Navy veteran advocate with the nonprofit Asbestos Ships Organization, says many former sailors now live with long-term diseases from shipboard toxic exposures that “impact every part of their lives physically, emotionally and socially,” deepening isolation and complicating access to coordinated care. Asbestos Ships, which maintains a data base of potentially contaminated vessels and assists veterans seek ing benefits, has urged sharper outreach for affected veterans.

National data show firearms account for the majority of veteran suicides, making safe storage practices and temporary removal of guns during crises key prevention strategies promoted by the VA and many veteran service organizations. Unhoused veterans face particularly high suicide rates, underscoring how social determinants such as homelessness and incarceration intensify risk.

Illinois Veterans ages 55–74 had the next highest rate (24.7 per 100,000), but even the youngest Illinois veterans (18–34) suffered a high rate of 28.4 per 100,000, nearly double the rate of their non veteran peers in that age group, according to data by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

In Illinois, the state level data mirrors those trends. The VA’s most recent Illinois Veteran Suicide Data Sheet reported that 162 Illinois veterans died by suicide in 2022, yielding a veteran suicide rate of 28.2 per 100,000, which is significantly higher than the overall Illinois population suicide rate. Most of these Illinois veteran losses were among men, and the highest-risk age bracket was 35–54 years (with a rate of about 47.1 per 100,000 in that group). These sobering Illinois figures under score that the veteran suicide crisis is very much present at the state and local level, including in the Chicago area.

For Black communities, there is a painful and underreported truth: the long-held perception that suicide primarily affects other groups is out of date. Research published in recent years documents dramatic increases in suicide among Black children and adolescents, with some age brackets rising far faster than other racial groups. Analysts point to exposure to violence, racialized bullying, school disinvestment, lack of culturally competent mental-health care and the compound ed stress of systemic rac ism as drivers.

Chicago advocates say prevention must be local and culturally fluent. Faith leaders, barbers, teachers and community organizations are often the first to hear cries for help and they need training, funding and clear referral pathways.

In addition to reopen ing closed mental health clinics, the city’s health department has expand ed QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) and other gatekeeper trainings. Community groups have pushed for more youth mental health clinics in neighborhoods that historically have been under-resourced, accord ing to the city’s data portal.

Suicide behind bars is another urgent concern. National analyses show suicide is a leading cause of death in local jails, often occurring shortly after detention, and that correctional settings with solitary confine ment and poor access to mental-health care amplify risk,” according to the CDC. Officials also stress that preven tion works when com munities and systems move together. The VA notes reductions in suicide among veterans engaged in Veterans Health Administration care for some mental health diagnoses, and credits crisis-line interventions with lowering near-term risk after contact.

As September marks National Suicide Preven tion Month, the steps are familiar and urgent: reach out to those who are isolated, learn the warning signs, remove access to lethal means during a crisis, and con nect people to care. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 for the Sui cide & Crisis Lifeline (24/7). Veterans can dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255 for the Veterans Crisis Line. If it’s an emergency, call 911.