Local groups unite to tackle suicide stigma, boost mental health

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, on average, 1 person in the U.S. dies by suicide every 11 minutes.

Local organizations held a meeting on Monday to discuss ways to increase awareness for suicide prevention and mental health illnesses, as well as breaking the stigma.

“The stigma around suicide is very strong,” said Tony Coder, executive director, Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.

“So, if someone is struggling, they might think, ‘oh I don’t want anybody to think I’m different or strange or something like that.’ If we can treat this as a health problem instead of a behavioral problem, we’ll go a lot further.”

The battle against suicide across the state and country has many contributing factors, making it difficult to pinpoint the main cause.

“I think overall in Ohio we are seeing a slight increase this year in suicides,” Executive Director of the Mental Health and Recovery Board for Belmont, Harrison, and Monroe counties Lisa Ward said.

“We continue post-covid to see challenges with depression and anxiety. We just wanted to do a check in with our communities.”

“Suicide is a multi-factored issue,” Coder said. “We can’t just blame mental health, or finances, or anything like that. It happens to everybody from 5 years old to 90 years old. So being here was how do we all work together to address this issue. It’s bigger than one agency, it’s bigger than one organization.”

Coder says rural areas across the country have higher suicide rates. And while anyone can be affected by a mental illness, 80% of suicides are white men aged 35-65. To combat this, the organizations in attendance discussed ways local communities can work together.

“It’s a community call for action,” said Kasey Osselborn, chief officer, Coleman Health Services. “We all need to be on the same page that mental health is just as important, if not more important, than physical health. It’s our whole person we need to take care of. It’s our whole neighborhood.”

Another point brought up was raising awareness for local resources available and having open discussions with people in your life.

“We’re a community that cares,” said Julie Gomez, executive director, NAMI. “The best way to do that is to start talking about mental illness and suicide. A lot of times we look at that as that’s not something I should concern myself with, it doesn’t affect me, it doesn’t affect my family, but it does.

“We know that 1 in 5 people are experiencing a mental health condition. So, you probably know somebody already, or maybe you yourself are. So, the more we talk about this and make this part of our regular conversation, the more positive impact we’re going to have.”

If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, or other mental health conditions. You can get help by dialing 988 to get in contact with local resources.