Challenge
Each year in the United States, more than 47,000 Americans lose their lives to suicide, while millions more attempt or think about suicide. These lives represent mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, spouses, partners, friends, and colleagues from every walk of life—regardless of gender, age, race, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
Given the complexity of this issue, suicide prevention requires engagement and commitment from all sectors of society. Due to its expertise and thought leadership, EDC serves as the home for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance)—the nation’s public-private partnership for suicide prevention. Alongside its more than 250 partners, the Action Alliance works to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (National Strategy), which serves as the nation’s road map for reducing suicide rates and saving lives.
Key Activities
As the secretariat for the Action Alliance, EDC staff:
- Lead efforts with partners to transform health systems, to transform community-based suicide prevention, and to change the conversation about suicide and suicide prevention
- Cultivate new partnerships with senior executives from business, government, and the nonprofit sector to leverage their influence and resources to strengthen national suicide prevention efforts
- Provide infrastructure support and coordination for all Action Alliance-led activities
- Support implementation of the National Strategy by championing suicide prevention as a national priority, generating opportunities to implement key goals and objectives, and cultivating the resources needed to sustain progress
- Lead other initiatives activated by the Action Alliance including Zero Suicide, the Faith.Hope.Life. campaign, the Crisis Now model, and the Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Response to COVID-19
Impact
- Partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General to develop The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
- Released resources to transform health care systems, including:
- Released resources to transform community-based suicide prevention, including:
- Released resources to change the conversation about suicide and suicide prevention, including:
- Framework for Successful Messaging – For individuals and organizations publicly messaging about suicide and suicide prevention
- National Recommendations for Depicting Suicide – For entertainment and media content creators
Learn More
PROJECT DIRECTOR

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