South Dakota’s Division of Behavioral Health announced that 214 residents died by self‑inflicted death in 2025, the highest total ever recorded in the state. The figure represents an 8% increase over the 198 deaths reported for 2024, and the suicide rate rose from 21.4 to 22.9 per 100,000 people.
Who is most affected?
More than three‑quarters of the 2025 deaths were among men. Workers in construction and manufacturing accounted for the largest share of industry‑related cases, highlighting a pressing need for targeted outreach in blue‑collar workplaces.
State response: a free prevention toolkit
To address this trend, the division has created a free toolkit aimed at blue‑collar employees. The package includes gun‑lock devices, printable flyers for break rooms and bathroom stalls, fact sheets, hard‑hat stickers promoting the 988 crisis hotline, Spanish‑language materials, and information on Naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Employers can order the kits through the state behavioral health website.
Firearms and demographic disparities
Firearms were involved in nearly 60% of the self‑inflicted deaths in 2025, most commonly among white men. The suicide rate for American Indian residents was 2.5 times higher than that of white South Dakotans. In response, the updated 988 campaign will feature messaging specifically for Native American men, and culturally tailored prevention materials are now available on the division’s website.
Visibility on campuses and health facilities
The division has already placed 115 signs promoting the 988 crisis hotline in parking lots at universities and health‑care facilities across the state, with an additional 200 signs slated for installation in the coming months.
What families and communities can do
Vanessa Barnes, assistant director of the Division’s Behavioral Health unit, emphasized that each statistic represents a real person, family, and community. “All of us have a role in prevention,” she said, urging residents to watch for warning signs, secure firearms, and share the 988 resources with coworkers and neighbors.
How to access help
Anyone in crisis can call or text 988, or start an online chat at 988lifeline.org. The state encourages employers, faith groups, and families to distribute the toolkit and promote the hotline as part of a broader community effort to curb the rising tide of self‑inflicted deaths.
Original reporting: KOTA (Gray) – local — read the source article.
