Reducing Access to Lethal Means
The built environment can be used for self-harm, including suicide. The built environment can be safer when communities:
- Change how ceiling fans are anchored
- Remove anchor points from buildings
- Have physical barriers at train stations and bridges
- Provide crisis support information in high-risk locations
- Keep firearms and ammunition in locked storage
- Install carbon monoxide detectors in cars
- Examine data to understand local patterns of death by suicide
- Natural light and green spaces are some features in the built environment that can be healing to people, including those who are thinking about suicide.
Healthcare providers who treat people feeling suicidal must consider privacy, security, and visibility. Some newer hospitals are being designed with this in mind.