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The work of a local volunteer group focused on suicide prevention is helping another Southeast community with an issue many people don't want to talk about.

Alaska has the highest per-capita suicide rate, more than double the national average. Efforts to lower the rate have met little success.

Social stigmas surrounding suicide make it difficult to talk about, but the number of deaths can reach a point that the effects feel pervasive in a small community.

That happened in Ketchikan. Every month for nearly a year beginning in August 2008, someone killed themself in the community of about 9,000. A majority of the deaths were adolescents.

"It's devastating to the community," said Laura Medford, executive director of the Ketchikan Gateway Center for Human Services.

Medford this spring made a connection with Brendan Kiernan, head of Juneau's task force, and James Gallanos, state suicide prevention coordinator. They shared the work done in Juneau and helped the Ketchikan community get started, she said.

"They were very supportive ... walked us through the Juneau program, what they're doing and offered everything they had done," Medford said.

Ketchikan is using Juneau's model to organize meetings, develop pamphlets and design a Web site that will let people know how to get help for depression and recognize sign of suicidal behavior.

The significant part of the work is that it publicizes the extent of the problem and makes it easier to talk about, said Kate Burkhart, executive director of the Alaska Mental Health Board.

Kiernan attended a Ketchikan town hall meeting in June to share Juneau's work with more than 100 who attended.

"He did a good job of motivating people and inspiring them with what's been done in Juneau," Medford said. "The fact we didn't have to reinvent the wheel meant we could go out there and get going in a short period of time."

The Ketchikan school district will implement a program used in Juneau to teach kids about mental health and screen them for potential problems such as depression. The program started here last year, when 425 high school students underwent mental health screenings by the district.

The Juneau Suicide Prevention Task Force formed a little over a year ago, after at least eight suicides among young people over the course of 18 months caused alarm in the community. More than 60 people signed up to join the group.

A core group of volunteers still participates in every meeting, Kiernan said.

They've printed 5,000 brochures for teens and parents that give suicide statistics, describe risk factors and prevention steps, and suggest what to do if a teen seems to be suicidal. They will go out to schools and social service agencies this fall.

The Web site offers the same information but also gives a comprehensive list of mental health providers in the city. The site went live this month.

"This Web site is remarkable," said Tom Chard, who works for the Alaska Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. "It's probably the best one available in the state."

The Juneau task force is funded by a three-year grant awarded to the Juneau School District through the Division of Behavioral Health of the state Department of Health and Social Services.

Medford said the city-run agency in Ketchikan will apply for a grant this year.

Chard said that as the state prepares for a suicide prevention summit this winter, the work done in Juneau would be shared as a model for other communities.

"I imagine we'll be looking at some of the work Juneau has done and using it as a positive example of something a community can do with dedication and some resources," Chard said.

• Contact reporter Kim Marquis at 523-2279 or kim.marquis@juneauempire.com.