Mental health professionals and local advocates held their monthly virtual meeting to brainstorm on plans and strategies Thursday to reduce self-harm and suicides, amid reports that such incidents are again on the rise.
The Santa Clarita Valley Suicide Prevention, Postvention and Wellness Committee looks at a range of issues surrounding self-harm, including how to reduce the number of incidents and raise local awareness about the resources available.
The group regularly welcomes professionals working in the field to share the latest on what’s being done to prevent suicides, as well as data to direct those efforts.
Capt. Brandon Barclay of the SCV Sheriff’s Station shared data with the group from the emergency-response perspective, recapping the annual data, including the gender and age groups for which the incidents were most prevalent.
Based on the data, guns were used in nine incidents, the most prevalent means, and residents over 60 were the most vulnerable. There were 29 suicides reported in 2025 in the Santa Clarita Valley, which included 23 males and six females, according to numbers from the Sheriff’s Department.
Data trends
The age-range data was not separated by gender, but the numbers reflected two deaths in the 18-29 age group; there were five in the 30-39 age range, as well as five in the 40-49 age range and five in the 50-59 age range. There were six in the 60-69 category and six more in the 70-plus category, meaning more than one-third of all incidents were reported in individuals aged 60 and older.
“It’s not just seniors, it’s 40- and 50-year-olds in the higher demographic, but definitely seniors and people who are under-cared, people in assisted living, are at higher risk,” said Larry Schallert, one of the founders of the suicide-prevention group.
The data presented to the committee did include a breakdown by race, with approximately two-thirds (19) identified as white; six were Hispanic individuals and one person was listed as being of Asian descent. There were three identified as “not captured,” meaning the race was not known or identified.
The numbers change every year, but these local experts use the data to try to identify trends that also inform them on where they should best be using local resources and what the messaging should be to reach the most people the most effectively.
Last year saw an increase of six deaths over the previous year, 2024, which had 23. There were 33 incidents reported in 2022. There were 20 reported in 2023. There were three so far this year, which is down one from the same point in 2025, Barclay added. All three decedents in 2026 were over 40, based on the data, who were all identified as Caucasian.
Schallert said a big positive from the data was that there were no male or female juveniles in the 2025 data, noting that prior to the group’s local meetings, it was common to see one or two incidents every year involving local students.
However, he said that fall-off gave way to an older demographic taking part in self-harm at a rate described as “flabbergasting,” according to Schallert.
“It’s a real concern in our community,” Schallert said in a phone interview Tuesday, mentioning several efforts that they’ve been able to pursue, with the information in hand.
Schallert said a gratifying outcome of community discussions like the SCV’s is how the Behavioral Health Commission — which he was appointed to by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger — has also taken up the concern and asked similar questions about the intake process for its caretakers.
“We’re trying to make sure that anybody who works with seniors is aware of that and also aware of the warning signs,” Schallert said, in terms of identifying gun ownership among people who might be at risk for self-harm.
An official from the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center said the organization offers meetings every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon, intended to help residents cope with the feelings of loss, shame and stigma that can come with the suicide of a loved one.
Local efforts
While mandatory questions about gun ownership would be a big first step, Schallert said, the committee also has had a lot of support over the years from a well-known place for firearm enthusiasts, the Oak Tree Gun Club.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Oak Tree CEO Betsy James talked about a plan to store unwanted guns for owners or loved ones of owners who no longer want the guns around. She acknowledged that her effort might be a bit nontraditional for someone whose business caters to those who love guns, but she felt the work was too important.
She has met with the prevention and postvention group for more than seven years and formulated a plan for temporary or long-term storage of firearms for those who might need to remove guns from the home.
There are reasons why people might have to safely store their guns outside of their home, whether it’s because the person or a roommate has a mental health crisis, restraining order or a new living situation and the family no longer wants ownership of the firearm.
“Oftentimes, the families don’t know what to do with the firearm. And so, you know, we kind of came up with a plan or an opportunity to be able to offer both short-term storage services while families are figuring things out — because sometimes that transition into either an assisted living facility, or going into some sort of longer-term care facility for health reasons, it doesn’t give families a lot of time to sort affairs out,” she said.
She added there’s no one-size-fits-all plan to address the situation, because every individual’s situation is a little different.
Due to a lot of reasons, she said she’s seen growing demand for that service, as well as a warning system that she and many range owners have, which allow people to warn them about anyone they’re aware of with a potential mental-health concern.
She encouraged anyone who knows a gun enthusiast they think might be at risk for self-harm to notify local ranges, as hers and many others have systems that allow ranges to “red-flag” someone who might have a high potential for self-harm.
She said a warning call to a gun range might be one that a social worker or health care official can’t make due to patient-privacy laws, but also one that she knows has been able to prevent suicide, in her experience.
“With firearms, it’s always very tricky, because there’s so many rules and laws associated with secure storage and that sort of thing,” James said. “So we saw an opportunity to really be able to help families and individuals for that particular reason. And then as we were sitting in and looking over the information that was being provided with statistical information on the increase of suicide among older adults, we realized, ‘Wow, this, this really critical now.’”
For more information about free and low-cost local resources, visit bethedifferenceSCV.org.
