The state Department of Health this fall will sponsor Hawai'i's first statewide suicide prevention conference, Building a Safety Net — Getting Connected for Suicide Prevention.

The event is set for Nov. 15-16 at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel. Conference co-sponsors include the Suicide Prevention Task Force; the Hawai'i Suicide Prevention, Education, Awareness and Research Foundation of America; HMSA; and the Rotary Club of Metropolitan Honolulu.

The conference is part of an ongoing collaborative effort to address a major public health challenge in the state, according to a news release issued by the state Health Department.

It is open to professional health and social services workers, those affected by suicide, and the public.

"The conference goal is to bring together agencies, organizations, communities and individuals from across the state to increase their knowledge of suicide prevention best practices and, ultimately, to reduce the incidence of suicide and suicide attempts in Hawai'i," state health director Chiyome Fukino said in the news release.

One person dies by suicide every three days in Hawai'i — about 125 per year — making it the second-leading cause of death by injury in the state. For every suicide, there are about 12 attempts, according to the Health Department.

Iris Bolton, one of the featured national presenters, is the founder of Survivors of Suicide support groups and the author of "My Son, My Son." After her son, Mitchell, died by suicide in 1977, Bolton became active in many national and local suicide prevention agencies and in the field of suicide prevention and aftercare.

Conference details and registration information are at www.hawaii.gov/health and the Injury Prevention Web site at www.nogethurt.hawaii.gov. For further information, call 586-5939.