Alaska agencies to discuss suicide prevention

ANCHORAGE - State agencies are convening in Anchorage this week for three-day summit on suicide prevention.

The summit starts Monday at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Representatives from the agencies will identify gaps in the network of prevention programs and try to strengthen them.

Brenda Moore is the chair of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council. She says seniors have the highest suicide rates in the Lower 48. In Alaska, however, it's the 19-to-29 age group, particularly young Native men.

In a recent survey, 8 percent of Alaska's high school students said they had attempted suicide.