As Hawaii observes National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, health leaders and community advocates are calling attention to troubling new data showing suicide remains one of the state’s most persistent public health crises, with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth disproportionately affected.

According to the state Department of Health, an average of 211 residents died by suicide each year between 2019 and 2023, making it a leading cause of injury-related deaths across the islands. That figure surpassed annual fatalities from traffic crashes, drownings and homicides combined.

In 2022 alone, an estimated 246 residents died by suicide, a rate of 16.6 per 100,000 — 13% higher than the national average.

The toll falls unevenly across populations.

Between 2018 and 2022, NHPI adol

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