In response to the alarming rise in suicide deaths among Black men, the Illinois chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention hosted a transformative training event called Soul Shop™ for Black Churches to equip faith leaders in ministering to those affected by suicide.
The one-day workshop, held at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, aimed to address the urgent need to combat suicide, which organizers say is a leading cause of death in the Black community. Soul Shop™ for Black Churches provided clergy, staff, lay pastors, and faith-based clinicians with the necessary tools to offer support and hope to those impacted by the many facets of trauma and struggles related to suicide.
The latest CDC data from 2021 underscores the critical importance of this training, revealing significant disparities in suicide rates among Black individuals, with a 19.2% increase in age-adjusted suicide rates for the Black population and a staggering 36.6% increase among Black youth aged 10-24 from 2018 to 2021.
Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Jamie Jackson:
