Towards Zero Suicides
Towards Zero Suicides NH promotes suicide prevention through education, connection and access to support, focusing on help for NH veterans and first responders living with traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Towards Zero Suicides NH helps veterans, first responders, and their families find suicide prevention resources and support for challenges related to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Through education, community partnerships, and connections to brain injury services, we help people take the next step toward care and hope.Preventing societal messages or laws that normalize suicide as a solution to problems; Providing brain injury resources and support to NH families and caregivers of veterans and first responders living with TBI; Helping families navigate New Hampshire’s civilian brain injury care system through BIA NH Neuro-Resource Facilitation.
Veterans have significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation than the general population — about one in four have experienced it in their lifetime, and current rates are rising. Because of what they do for a living, both veterans and first responders are prone to sustaining a TBI – a contributing factor to suicide ideation.
The Brain Injury Association of NH (BIANH) provides resources for veterans and first responders struggling with suicidal thoughts and other mental health challenges related to TBI (traumatic brain injuries). BIANH helps individuals, families and caregivers with trainings that identify early signs of suicidal ideation warning signs, opportunities for peer connections and sources of community support.
We believe those who serve our communities deserve care, understanding and hope. Together, we can reduce isolation, encourage people to seek help and work towards the goal of zero suicides in New Hampshire.
The purpose of this campaign is to augment the good work of organizations like the State Suicide Prevention Council (State Suicide Prevention Council | Bureau of Community Health Services | New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and The Samaritans | Connected. Resilient. Community.
According to the CDC’s latest final data, 248 New Hampshire residents died by suicide in 2024. The state’s age-adjusted suicide rate was 16.4 deaths per 100,000 people, above the national rate of 13.7 and the second-highest in New England, after Maine. New Hampshire’s 2024 Annual Suicide Prevention Report identifies middle-aged adults as a priority for prevention: the age group with the largest number of suicide deaths in its analysis was 50–54, while men over 80 had the highest rate.
Suicide rarely results from a single cause. Depression and other mental health conditions, substance use, social isolation, financial stress, and barriers to care can increase risk, while supportive relationships and access to effective treatment can help protect people. Nationally, SAMHSA’s 2025 survey estimated that 20.6% of adults—54.6 million people—experienced a mental illness during the previous year, and 18.5 million adults experienced both a mental illness and a substance use disorder. These overlapping needs underscore the importance of coordinated mental health and substance use treatment.
Help is available. Anyone experiencing emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, or a substance use crisis—or concerned about someone else—can call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
We hope you will consider becoming an active participant in this important conversation. If you are interested in learning more about the Towards Zero Suicides , please contact Steve Wade at steve@bianh.org or Robin Schell at rschell@jjwpr.com or (603) 770-3607.