Suicide Awareness/Prevention
Briefly describe the overall goal of your PSA: Suicide Awareness/Prevention
Your overall goal should either involve bringing awareness to an issue or promoting a change in behavior.
Briefly describe the target audience for your PSA.
Your audience should guide the creation of your PSA. Think about who they are (age, interests, opinions, influences, etc.), what they expect, what they know and understand, what they don’t know and understand, and how to convince them.
Write a paragraph that explains and details the current situation regarding your topic. Include at least 1 fact from a source.
Write a paragraph that explains why it is important for people to know about this topic. Include at least 1 fact from a source.
Project Requirements
o Topic appropriate for a PSA
o PSA goal
o PSA specified audience
o Summary of the current situation of your topic for your PSA
o Explanation of validity of solution or behavior promoted in PSA
o Explanation of why people need to understand the issue
o List of sources
o List of facts
o PSA video
Sample Solution
Suicide Awareness/Prevention is the topic chosen for this PSA. The overall goal of the PSA is to bring awareness to suicide, educate viewers on suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and provide resources that can help both those suffering from suicidal ideation and their loved ones. The target audience for this PSA are young adults between the ages of 18-25 as youth suicide rates have increased significantly over the past few years.
According to a recent report by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide was one of the leading causes of death in 2019 among individuals aged 10-34 in the United States with an alarming rate increase of 56%. This number has only been increasing during 2020 due to various stressors like social isolation, job loss, economic uncertainty etc., related to COVID-19 pandemic which makes it even more important for people to be aware about how serious an issue suicide is and what can be done about it.
It is important for people to understand that everyone goes through different struggles in life at some point or another but those who are feeling overwhelmed should know that they are not alone and there are several support systems available that can help them out if they reach out. Everyone needs someone they can talk to openly without judgment when things get too tough; talking it out helps you realize your feelings and make better decisions which ultimately reduces risk factors associated with suicidal behavior. Furthermore, community members need to learn how recognize signs of mental distress in order to respond appropriately when someone needs help or intervene before things escalate further.
Sources:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020). Vital Signs: Trends in Suicide Rates Among Persons Aged 10–34 Years – United States, 2000–2017” Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6928a1