THE Ministry of Health’s mental health and suicide prevention helpline was in September flooded with hundreds of calls from Jamaicans in distress.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said, for that month alone, there were 500 calls to the facility which provides 24/7 free and confidential support and information by phone. He said individuals who called were counselled or referred, depending on the circumstances.

The health minister made the disclosure while responding to queries from the Jamaica Observer about the interventions by the ministry against the background of a recent Jamaica Constabulary Force report that there is a mid-year surge in suicide with St Catherine North being an area of particular concern.

Dr Tufton said aside from the helpline which provides access to counselling by psychologists and referrals for follow-up psychological and social support, as well as intervention to address mental health crises, including suicidal intent or attempts, the ministry is continuing the sensitisation of the health team “to enable early diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues”.

“Just about a month ago a group of some 47 non-psychiatric health-care workers were provided training under the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), which exposes team members to the various manifestations of mental disorders, including depression. Another group of workers are to be trained in the coming month or two,” Dr Tufton said.

Additionally, he said the ministry’s School Mental Health Literacy Programme will resume this month with guidance counsellors as the main facilitators.

Dr Tufton said the programme will offer students the chance to enhance their awareness about mental health [conditions and coping strategies], toward stigma reduction and improved mental health-seeking behaviours.

“At the community level, we are continuing the deployment of Problem Management Plus providers to offer support services for people experiencing mild emotional distress or who are faced with adverse challenges — relationship issues, workplace issues, et cetera. We currently have some 45 active providers in the field,” the health minister stated.

He said the ministry continues to operate public mental health clinics (more than 150 adult clinics and more than 20 for children and adolescents) islandwide.

The Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) on Tuesday said a comparative analysis of suicide data in Jamaica for the period January to September 2024 and the corresponding period in 2025 indicates an overall decline of nearly 17 per cent in suicide in 2025 compared to 2024, with 44 cases recorded this year against 53 last year. However, it said “beneath this general decline lies significant variations across months, parishes, and gender categories”.

“Notably, while the early months of 2025 reflected reductions, a mid-year surge in July and August raises concerns about possible seasonal or localised triggers. The data also show shifts in geographical concentration, with St James emerging as a hotspot in 2024 and St Catherine North showing prominence in 2025. These findings suggest implications for public health, social work, and community support systems, especially in tailoring interventions to specific temporal and geographic patterns,” CCN said.

“The mid-year spike, geographic concentration in St Catherine North, and possible upward movement among female suicide all indicate that suicide prevention strategies must become more dynamic and nuanced,” it said further.

“From a public health perspective, this means scaling up early detection and crisis response during high-risk months, especially July and August. From a social work standpoint, there is a pressing need to engage families and communities in high-incidence parishes with counselling, awareness programmes, and support networks that address local realities. From a community support angle, faith-based organisations, schools, and civic groups should be mobilised as front-line actors in providing safe spaces, reducing stigma, and offering non-clinical avenues of support,” CCN added.

Tabulated data of suicide across 19 police divisions for 2024 and 2025 showed that Westmoreland had two instances of suicide in 2024 and three since this year; St James recorded seven last year and three so far this year; St Ann, eight last year and two this year; and St Mary, five last year and one this year. For the parish of Portland, CCN said there were two suicide last year and one since year; St Elizabeth, three last year and two this year; Manchester, one last year and two this year; and Clarendon, seven last year and five this year. The parish of Hanover had one suicide last year and none so far this year.

St Andrew Central recorded one suicide last year but five since this start of this year; St Andrew South recorded one suicide last year and one this year; while Kingston Central recorded zero incidents last year and one since the start of this year. Kingston Eastern, in the meantime, recorded one suicide last year and one since this year; while Kingston Western recorded one suicide last year and two since year. St Andrew North saw five last year and one so far this year; while St Catherine North saw four last year and eight since this year. The police said St Catherine South, which recorded all of 11 suicide last year, has recorded none since this year; while St Thomas, which saw six last year, has seen three since this year.