The Uniqueness of Men’s Suicide

Suicide remains a critical public health concern in the United States, with rates continuing to rise over the past two decades. In Michigan, this trend is particularly pronounced, with suicide rates increasing by more than 25% during this span. Men bear a disproportionate burden of suicide mortality. Dealing with male suicide in Michigan is important this June – Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month – and throughout the year. Men are three times more likely to die of suicide than women in Michigan (Table 1).¹ Further, males have significantly higher suicide rates than females across all age groups.² Male suicide rates are even higher in specific Michigan counties at various locations throughout the state.^3,4 A major factor is men’s reluctance to seek care for mental health.¹ Men may be less likely to engage with specialty mental health services because of traditional masculine norms emphasizing self-reliance, concerns about stigma and appearing weak, preferences for informal support networks, and structural barriers such as cost, access, and limited availability of gender-responsive services.⁵ The means men tend to resort to more often than women, firearms, is also particularly lethal.⁶ While men in Washtenaw County aged 25-44 years display the highest male suicide rates, middle-aged men more frequently complete suicide.⁷ We will examine patterns and contributing factors to male suicide in Michigan with attention to racial, rural, and veteran populations. The ending will highlight opportunities for action.

Men’s Suicide among African Americans

According to the Michigan Suicide Prevention Commission, African Americans are increasingly exposed to unemployment and financial and food insecurity, limited access to health care, and experiences of racism.⁸ These impacts yield an increased burden of mental health conditions. Partly as a result, the suicide rate in Michigan for African Americans climbed from 5.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2017 to 9.1 in 2020.⁸ A Johns Hopkins University research team reported that the suicide death rate in African American men increased 25.3% in the past two decades. It stated that this trend in men and boys should be a public health priority.⁹

Increasing the referral rate to mental health services and supporting culturally and contextually designed community services offer an important, complementary response.^9,10 Comprehensive solutions need to address a wide array of social determinants.¹¹ Community-based suicide prevention efforts should leverage trusted settings where men naturally gather, such as barbershops, workplaces, sports organizations, and faith communities. The Confess Project of America, for example, trains trusted community members to recognize signs of emotional distress, reduce stigma, and facilitate referrals for those less likely to engage with traditional mental health services.

Men’s Suicide among Military Veterans

As reported in 2023, an average of 175 Michigan military veterans take their own lives each year.¹² Male veterans in Michigan are especially at risk. During the previous year, 160-170 male, as opposed to fewer than 10 female Michigan veterans committed suicide.¹³ Two-thirds of male veterans committing suicide use firearms to do so.¹⁴ Major risk predictors include post-service firearm access, suicidal planning, and a history of mental health inpatient stays.¹⁵ However, a closer inspection of actual cases shows that more intimate factors, such as social and geographic isolation, lack of transportation to needed services, and job loss are also important contributing factors.¹⁶

Men’s Suicide among Rural Residents

The Healthy Men Michigan campaign was launched in 2016 by Dr. Jodi Jacobson Frey of the University of Maryland with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess screening and act as a source of referral for men struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. The focus was on working age men, with concentration on those living in in rural Michigan. More than 5,000 individuals completed anonymous online screenings; 550 men enrolled in the study.¹⁷ These numbers reflect the degree of need. Evidence exists that community-based depression screening combined with education can reduce suicide incidence.¹⁸ Northern Michigan’s rural counties have the state’s highest suicide rates, in some instances double the rate of more populated areas.¹⁹ Associated factors include employment in the construction industry with its seasonal and frequent layoffs, easy access to firearms for hunting and recreation, and a culture of stoicism when faced with mental health challenges.^19-21 These factors are characteristic of men more so than women. Solutions are closely tied to attention to social issues such as employment and insurance opportunities, as well as to training in safe firearm storage.²¹

Statistic	Year(s)	Reference
67% of MI suicide deaths occurred in men	2009-2018	Inst. for Firearm Injury Prevention (2026)1
23 MI suicide deaths in men; 6.5 in women per 100,000	2022	MDHHS (2024)22
Percentage of male suicide victims utilizing guns, Washtenaw County, twice that of women	2021-2023	Parlette (2024)7
African American adults 36% less likely than U.S. adults overall to receive mental health care	2024	OMH (2026)10
Suicide risk 22% higher among U.S. military veterans than civilians	2014	APHA (2018)14
MI overall suicide rate 18.4, but 31.9 per 100,000 for military veterans	2022	U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs (2022)13
MI overall suicide rate 14.4, but 37.6 and 35.6 per 100,000 for primarily rural Roscommon and Alcona Counties	2029-2023	NIMHHD (2025)23

Existing Programs

Programs in Michigan that do exist include: (1) Preventing Suicide in Michigan Men (PRiSMM), a 5-year CDC funded MDHHS grant to enlarge masculine norms to incorporate emotional issues and create strong multi-sectoral preventive partnerships; (2) Man Therapy – use of hopeful stories, some digitally recorded, to reduce stigma and reshape the conversation around suicide prevention and men’s mental health; and (3) the Governor’s (Gretchen Whitmer’s) Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families – implementing innovative best practices both among providers and peers.

Areas for Individual and Collective Action

Aside from existing programs, certain focus areas stand out as opportunities for individual and collective action:

1. Expand Community Suicide Prevention Training: Lay persons should complete evidence-informed suicide prevention training, such as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) or ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), to increase their ability to recognize warning signs, have supportive conversations, and connect those in need with appropriate resources.
   • Age-appropriate programs should also be offered to youth in school and community settings to build mental health literacy and foster a culture in which conversations about suicide are safe, informed, and free from stigma.
2. Strengthen Community- and Faith-Based Partnerships: Religious organizations, community groups, and other trusted local institutions can play an important role in suicide prevention. The Congressional Black Caucus issued an Emergency Task Force Report recommending that religious and community-based approaches to suicide prevention should be further explored.⁹ The AVS Think Tank, a community suicide prevention organization in Flint, MI hosted Soul Shop suicide prevention training in June for this purpose. Soul Shop, a faith-based national movement, illustrates how such settings can increase awareness, reduce stigma, and strengthen referral pathways.
   • The AVS example of pertinent religious involvement can be replicated in other community settings.
3. Preserve and Promote Crisis Services: The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline remains a critical component of the suicide prevention continuum. The 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline was shuttered last year to LGBTQ+ callers. An 18-study systematic review found that crisis telephone services can reduce suicidality over the course of the call.¹⁸
   • Military veteran access to the Crisis Lifeline needs to be preserved. Veterans and their families should be made aware of its existence.
4. Promote Culturally Responsive Firearm Safety: Efforts to reduce firearm-related suicides should respect local cultural norms, particularly in rural communities where firearm ownership is common.²⁰ The notion of “gun control” is less easily accepted than training in safe storage and use, which can also deter use in suicide.
   • Firearm training should include making people aware of Michigan’s 2023 secure storage law, which includes deterrents to rash use of guns and ammunition.²⁴ 
5. Address Social Isolation in Rural Communities: Recognizing and addressing loneliness and social isolation, particularly among men in rural communities where geographic distance, limited services, and smaller social networks can increase isolation, may help identify individuals at increased risk for suicide and strengthen opportunities for early intervention.
   • Community-based outreach and social connection initiatives should be prioritized.
6. Support Economic Stability: Economic stress is a well-established risk factor for suicide.²⁵
   • Unemployment benefits under the Michigan Employment Security Act should be diligently reported and enforced, with wide latitude granted for job-search requirements.
7. Protect Against Discrimination: Policies that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and education contribute to environments that support mental well-being. Increasing awareness of legal rights and available protections may empower individuals to seek recourse for discrimination, helping to reduce barriers that negatively affect mental health and well-being. The Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, amended in 2023 and 2024, pertains to males, females, and transgender individuals of all races and colors in employment, housing, and education.
   • While military service is not a part of the antidiscrimination law, actions like safeguarding rental housing in light of the tenant’s source of income and securing back pay and damages in the case of discrimination-related lost employment, are. People should be made aware that they have the right to bypass Michigan Department of Civil Rights screening requirements to engage in these actions in court.
8. Maintain Access to Affordable Health Care: Maintaining access to Medicaid and other affordable health insurance programs is essential for the timely diagnosis and treatment of depression and other mental health conditions, particularly among low-income populations. Governor Whitmer has been active in taking steps to overcome the effect of Medicaid cuts on Michiganders (e.g., Executive Directive No. 2025-6 to direct Michiganders to resources that would keep them enrolled in the Marketplace; partnering with Undue Medical Debt to provide medical debt relief in Michigan). Medical solvency, especially access to Medicaid, is essential for access to care for depression and other mental health conditions in low-income residents.²⁶
   • Policies that preserve access to behavioral health services should remain a public health priority. The choice of Governor in Michigan’s midterm elections is important to keeping Governor Whitmer’s policies alive.
9. Deliver Gender-Responsive Mental Health Care: Increasing access to mental health services alone is insufficient. Even if access to mental health services is established, studies involving men who have attempted suicide reveal that a nonjudgmental attitude and genuine concern on the part of the provider are important to establishing trust and continued interaction.²⁷
   • Training clinicians in gender-responsive, person-centered communication may improve engagement with and trust in men at risk for suicide.

Conclusion

Basic human resources, like a person to drive a help-seeking individual to needed care and a spouse listening to critical warning signs, go beyond policy bullet points. Public health recognizes the value of family and community. Professionals and family members appreciating trigger events like “no show” appointments for a mental health counselor or noticeably increased alcohol intake in those living close to retail alcohol outlets can be lifesaving. Together with well-informed practices, human kindness and awareness can go a long way to addressing the needs of men at risk of suicide.

References

1. Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, University of Michigan. (2025). Preventing Suicide in Michigan Men (PRiSMM) – Affiliated Project. Retrieved June 23, 2026 from https://firearminjury.umich.edu/project/preventing-suicide-in-michigan-men.
2. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (2026). Suicide Statistics. Retrieved June 23, 2026 from https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics.
3. Washtenaw County Health Department. Suicide Report, June 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2026 from https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/bc60ff43-46bf-4983-8387-46759271008c.
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Updated 07/07/2026