Zero Suicide, an overarching institutional framework and philosophy designed to reduce the suicide rate, is underway in the Missouri Department of Corrections
Story by Marcus Wilkins. Photo illustrations by Garry Brix
When Melody Lepley was in her darkest hour, it was a fellow Missouri Department of Corrections officer who provided a supportive light of hope.
The year was 2017, and Lepley — then a CO I at Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (WERDCC) — was managing severe depression. Lepley and her husband were going through a divorce, and her daughter was moving out of the house, having graduated from high school. Lepley — whose own mother had worked in law enforcement and died by suicide when Lepley was 16 — was experiencing suicidal ideation.
“I had been telling people about my struggles for some time, and even saying goodbyes, but nobody caught on that I was planning to go home and hurt myself that day,” Lepley said. “Nobody except for one officer who realized something wasn’t right. She followed me home and prevented me from completing suicide. We ended up calling my aunt and getting me the help I needed.”
Eight years later, Lepley now serves on the planning team for Zero Suicide — a revolutionary, culture-altering framework to be implemented by the department in 2025. Staff-focused and the first of its kind nationwide in the field of corrections, Zero Suicide is a reformatted version of a successful initiative used in the healthcare industry.
The concept, while aspirational, is that “the only acceptable number of suicides is zero.”
“Zero Suicide is not just another training or campaign,” said Meckenzie Hayes, licensed clinical social worker and coordinator of the MODOC Employee Trauma Response Team. “It’s a total, organizational, top-to-bottom way of looking at suicide from every angle and providing help.”
Although research is limited, studies show that U.S. suicide rates are 39% higher for correctional employees than workers in other occupations and that 31% of corrections professionals endure extreme psychological distress — a rate twice as high as in the general population.
The Zero Suicide rollout — led by the Division of Human Services — includes courses, toolkits and a holistic philosophy shift aimed at better preparing staff to effectively respond with confidence when a teammate is in crisis. The initiative will also help to reduce stigma and normalize help-seeking behavior.
Zero Suicide resources include a comprehensive guidebook, complete with step-by-step guidance for a variety of scenarios. Additional resources and maintenance courses will become available as the program grows and evolves.
Starting in March, the Division of Human Services team began visiting corrections facilities statewide to present the Zero Suicide framework to management staff. Later this year, in-person classes will begin educating all staff on the program’s core components — including evidence-based practices for recognizing at-risk individuals and ways to support coworkers and encourage care. The department also will offer advanced training for staff who accept roles to perform higher-level interventions.
"Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility,” Hayes said. “We want all team members, regardless of their role in the DOC, to feel comfortable knowing what steps to take when they encounter a team member in crisis. We want to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits by responding to each individual based on their level of risk — not based on fear.”
VanDee Miller, assistant director of the Division of Human Services, has helped implement Zero Suicide in her past administrative roles at Capital Region Medical Center and Burrell Behavioral Health.
“At the program’s heart, it’s human to human,” Miller said. “It’s saying ‘I see that you’re struggling right now. I care about you, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. So, what’s going on? How can I help?’ It’s just a conversation, but the more important point is that we should all take everyone’s mental health more personally. It’s everyone’s responsibility.”
These days, Lepley is thriving. She has been promoted to sergeant, and she remains active as an advocate for mental-health awareness. Lepley even helped launch the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Out of the Darkness Walk in Fulton, Missouri.
“I came out of my experience a lot stronger and a lot more aware of my mental health,” Lepley said. “I have always been actively involved in trying to get people to talk about mental health and suicide. We have to support one another.”
