The Narrative

Inquiring about lethal means safety and suicide prevention can be such an overwhelming topic to approach. There are so many angles and facets to a complication that reaches out to every corner of our lives; because we are dealing with lives in their totality when we deal with suicide.

Given this complexity, there are three facets that can be applied to any lethal mean, focusing on the ease of access, lethality, and immediacy of completion. These operational definers allow for a comparable understanding of lethal means and safety protocols; understanding how and which means are highest or lowest on these critical scales.

When we talk of lethality, we are talking about the capacity to cause death. This of course is inseparable from ease of access and immediacy of completion, as these operational definers intersect on many levels. But how do we explicitly decrease lethality in a device that inadvertently has such a high rate of lethality to begin with?

Within the study of lethal means safety and suicide prevention, it has been well established that responsible firearm care is one in the same as responsible use and storage of ammunition. This seems obvious, but when talking about guns, rarely do we talk about the bullet.

The Literature

It has been well established in suicide prevention and gun violence efforts that separate storage of firearm and ammunition is a critical part of a safety plan, as it drastically limits the accessibility and lethality of a firearm; the bullet changes everything.

Ammunition is a conglomerate of chemical compounds that are temperature sensitive, so it is equally vital to recognize the climate condition that you are storing your ammunition in, as this can inadvertently make a box of ammunition an unstable hazard if left in extreme temperatures.

The Culmination

From this vantage point, we can see that firearm safety should not just be focused on the safe storage of the firearm but dually the safe and separate storage of the ammunition. With any firearm, you need a bullet and with any bullet you need a firearm. An understanding of this notion allows for safety protocols to be implemented that separate these components and compounds the thresholds that interrupts ease of access.

Responsible firearm ownership is responsible ammunition ownership. Often, ammunition is handled more loosely than firearms as it is thought that it is not harmful unless it has a mechanism to project it. However, access to ammunition is halfway to accessing a lethal weapon which can change everything; a bullet changes everything.

Local Initiatives and Involvements

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention 2025 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN MESA COUNTY Register Here!

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST): September 18-19, November 6-7 This two-day workshop(16 hours) helps participants learn how to prevent suicide by recognizing signs, providing a skilled intervention, and developing a safety plan to keep someone alive.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA): April 11, September 26, October 17, December 5 This eight (8) hour training teaches people how to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges in adults, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care.

Youth Mental Health First Aid (Youth MHFA): April 18, August 29 This Six and half (6.5) hour training for adults who regularly interact with people ages 12-18. It introduces common mental health challenges, typical adolescent development, and plan for how to help in crisis and non-crisis situations

Soul Shop™: October 2 This 90-minute workshop equips faith community leaders and other people of faith to train their congregations to minister to those impacted by suicidal desperation.

If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, call or text 988. The National Suicide Hotline is staffed around the clock with certified members of the American Association of Suicidology. Or the Crisis Text Line, text CO to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from a secure online platform.