Anyone planning Suicide Prevention Awareness Month observances within installations, units, or military communities may use this toolkit as a guide for designing campaign activities.

DSPO developed this toolkit to support and strengthen suicide prevention efforts within the Department and the broader military community.  The toolkit provides content and materials to aid in planning and executing a Suicide Prevention Awareness Month campaign tailored to each community. Planners can adapt or modify many of the items in the toolkit.

Promote “Joining Your Fight:  Connect to Protect” throughout September and beyond.  Every member of the military community plays a critical role in reaching out and preventing suicide.  Join forces against suicide.  Participate in suicide prevention activities and programs at the installation, unit, and community levels.  Share the toolkit with others, initiate conversations, and amplify suicide prevention messages.

For those communicating on social media, use the hashtags #SPM25, #JoiningYourFight, #ConnectToProtect, and #988 to join the conversation.  Tag DSPO to help expand the campaign’s reach. 

Use the following talking points to communicate key information about suicide prevention and highlight how the DOD is #JoiningYourFight to prevent suicide among Service members, their families,
and DOD civilians.

• • [Insert installation, unit, etc., name] implements efforts to prevent suicide across the
    Total Force.
  • The Department continues to take unprecedented actions towards addressing this critical public health issue through the implementation of a suicide prevention campaign with five lines of effort (LOEs) and enabling tasks.  These five LOEs are:
  • Fostering supportive environments
  • Addressing stigma as a barrier to getting help
  • Improving the delivery of mental health care
  • Promoting a culture of lethal means safety
  • Revise Suicide Prevention Training
  • The DOD and [insert installation, unit, etc., name] prioritize suicide prevention throughout the year as a critical component of Total Force strength and readiness.
  • Each September, during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, the DOD spotlights the
    importance of suicide prevention efforts and emphasizes resources and support available to
    the military community.
  • DOD’s 2025 Suicide Prevention Awareness Month theme, “Joining Your Fight:  Connect to Protect,” underscores the vital role strong connections such as family, friends, and community members play in preventing suicide.
  • The Department urges Service members, civilians, and their families to prioritize well-being by seeking support when needed, offering assistance to those who may be struggling, and fostering strong connections within the military community.  A connected community is a resilient community.
  • DOD and [insert installation, unit, etc., name] celebrate the resilience and strength of Service members, veterans, their families, and the greater military community.
  • Seeking help is a sign of strength.

Sample Press Release Publicize your events and activities during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month with a press release distributed to your local news outlets. Use this template and update it with your unique activities. DOWNLOAD
Sample Public Service Announcements Help promote Suicide Prevention Awareness Month with the use of our sample public service announcements on your local radio broadcast stations. These templates are available and ready for you to download and tailor for your local events and activities. DOWNLOAD
Sample Blog / Newsletter Submission: Raise awareness about your local events and engagements for suicide prevention awareness in your community. DOWNLOAD
Social Media Toolkit Take advantage of special messaging and campaign materials to promote Suicide Prevention Awareness tools and resources online. download

Education Materials and Guidance Documents

Leaders Suicide Prevention Safe Messaging Guide Talking safely about suicide doesn’t lead to suicide. We can all talk about suicide safely — it starts with knowing the facts and using caring and sensitive language. Check out the Leaders Suicide Prevention Safe Messaging Guide here to communicate safely about suicide. DOWNLOAD
Lethal Safety Means Safety Guide This SPM, DoD is focusing on promoting lethal means safety to reduce suicide risk. Lethal means are objects (e.g., medications, firearms, sharp objects) used to engage in suicidal behavior. Research shows that adding time and distance between an individual with suicide risk and lethal means (e.g., via safe storage and making it more difficult to access) has shown to be an effective way to prevent death by suicide. For more information on lethal means safety and suicide prevention methods, share the Means Safety for Military Service Members and Their Families guide and the Stop, Lock, and Live lethal means safety public service announcement video, along with the other tools and the accompanying Service Implementation Guide as part of your SPM observance. Read below for a quick overview of lethal means safety and share some of these resources on ways to join the fight. DOWNLOAD
Campaign Fact Sheet Speak in a united voice with a clear understanding of the Joining Your Fight: Connect to Protect campaign. Use our campaign fact sheet to understand everything there is to know about the Joining Your Fight: Connect to Protect campaign. DOWNLOAD
Talking About Suicide Online Fact Sheet Writing clear and stigma-free communication is an essential component of maintaining credibility as a subject-matter leader in suicide prevention. Take advantage of the Talking About Suicide Online fact sheet to understand the nuances of writing communications about suicide prevention. DOWNLOAD

Communications Materials

Pledge Encourage others to join our fight with the suicide prevention pledge. Share the pledge and have your team sign the pledge to advocate for suicide prevention all year long. DOWNLOAD
Poster Share the Joining Your Fight campaign poster and bring awareness to Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. DOWNLOAD

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Social Media Toolkit 2024

Spread awareness and allow others to find suicide prevention content by sharing links, resources, and helpful information online. By including a hashtag, your social media followers will be able to have access to a streamlined thread that directs them to help-seeking tools they can use and share with others.

DSPO encourages you to use the following hashtags and handles throughout September.

Follow and use the 2024 Hashtags:

• #JoiningYourFight
• #ConnectToProtect
• #SPM24
• #suicideprevention
• #988

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All use of social media must be done in accordance with DoDI 5400.17. Official DoD pages should include an appropriate disclaimer where content from non-Federal entities will be included. As a reminder, DoD personnel are not prohibited from using personal social media accounts to forward, like, or link to official information, provided it is done in a manner that does not express or imply DoD sanction or endorsement of any personal content. DoD personnel must include an appropriate disclaimer when reposting DoD content to personal social media, such as “Views are my own and do not represent DoD.”

GIFs:

Get followers and fans involved in promoting suicide prevention awareness by sharing Suicide Prevention Awareness Month GIFs. GIFS are short, animated graphics to generate a positive reaction to your conversations online. Adding a GIF to a comment and post can initiate user engagement and interest in your conversations

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Social Media Toolkit Download Library

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Facebook Cover Image

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Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Facebook Frame

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Evergreen Campaign Facebook Frame

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Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Facebook Posts – Dimensions: 1080px X 1350px

Evergreen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Facebook Posts – Dimensions: 1080px X 1350px

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Instagram Posts – Dimensions: 1080px X 1080px

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Facebook / Instagram Stories – Dimensions: 1080px X 1920px

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month X Cover Image

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Suicide Prevention Awareness Month X Posts – Dimensions: 600px X 335px

Evergreen Suicide Prevention X Posts – Dimensions: 600px X 335px