Is Community Connection the Key to Saving Lives?

Lithuania has achieved a remarkable feat — cutting its suicide rate by more than half — through a nationwide shift from medication to meaningful human connection.

“It’s important to recognise that it’s human to struggle when times are tough, but it’s possible to work through it if people know they have support and are not alone,” said clinical psychologist Mantas Jeršovas.

Since joining the EU in 2004, Lithuania has reduced its suicide rate from about 44 to 19.5 deaths per 100,000 people, one of the fastest improvements in the world. The country launched its National Mental Health Strategy in 2007, followed by a Suicide Prevention Bureau in 2015 and an Action Plan in 2016 to expand community-based support. Around 10,000 people have been trained as suicide-prevention “gatekeepers,” and free well-being centres now operate in all 60 municipalities, helping more than 30,000 citizens every year. Nonprofits like Sidabrinė Linija, which has befriended 6,000 elderly callers, continue to fight loneliness and stigma, showing how compassion and connection can save lives.