Our Kids Are Counting On Us: Suicide Prevention
The mission of the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley is very straightforward: to promote mental health through education, awareness, and advocacy. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and MHA Executive Director Katie Jones said the organization is using this opportunity to ask community women to consider the issue of youth suicide prevention. Why? "Because our kids are counting on us," she said.
Our Children’s Public Health Crisis
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24. Though these statistics are devastating, Jones said there’s hope-through making an impact in our community and introducing/continuing programs that work. "Our hearts go out to the families who’ve lost loved ones to suicide. As a mother, I pray my son will never experience depression or consider suicide. As an advocate, I’ll fight to make certain our community is doing everything it can to prevent this tragedy."
Sherry Bryant is a mental health professional and a personal survivor of suicide. She’s dedicated her efforts to the memory of her son, Todd Bryant, a 22-year-old Bradley University graduate who committed suicide six months after finishing his degree in engineering and four days after being released from an inpatient hospitalization. Bryant, who’s chairperson of the Illinois Suicide Prevention Committee, said, "Suicide is a public health issue-not a weird, bizarre incident. The suicide rate in the United States is 85 people per day. If 85 people died from Firestone tires, we’d hop on it."
Jones said the key is to enhance our understanding of comprehensive, well-researched, and recovery-focused strategies so community and family members can prevent this all-too-common tragedy.
The following paragraphs offer several nationally recognized and well-researched models to employ to save young people from the tragedy of suicide.
Public Awareness Campaigns
In addition to the resource central Illinois has in the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley, Jones said the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) (www.suicidology.org) has granted our community the rights to implement the AFSP "Suicide Should Not Be A Secret" public awareness campaign for youth suicide prevention. "Bit by bit, we must introduce the subject matter and enter the collective mindset with the urgent message that young people need to ask for help when they have thoughts of suicide. Parents, teachers, and friends must ask young people who seem depressed, ’Do you ever think about suicide?’ If they say yes, that’s a sign that the young person needs professional help. Feeling depressed and contemplating suicide isn’t a normal part of being a teenager. This is a red flag."
School-based Prevention Education
Exceptional collaboration is happening in our local community regarding children and adolescent mental health issues, Jones said. "Recently, the Peoria-based Tim Ardis Foundation for Hope granted $3,500 for implementation of the Red Flags Depression Awareness Program for middle school students. Thanks to the Joining Forces for Children (JFFC) Early Identification Task Force, Red Flags is being implemented in several local schools by mental health educators from NAMI Tri-County, the Mental Health Association, and other organizations to educate young people, teachers, and parents about the signs of depression."
Another source of assistance came in the form of a $2,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Central Illinois, intended for the implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program for middle school and high school students. "Whereas Red Flags educates about symptoms, Yellow Ribbon takes the prevention education a step further to intervention," Jones said. "In other words, when teachers, parents, and students identify the signs of depression and/or thoughts of suicide, they must take action to get these young people the help they so desperately need. If they have to take them by the arm or sit with them until the issue can be addressed with a mental health professional, they should do so."
She said the President’s New Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health names early identification of mental illness as one the key objectives within the vision statement. "One means for early identification is systematic screening. Columbia University’s TeenScreen (www.teenscreen.org) is a computerized, interactive screening tool that’s been identified by the Commission as having been proven effective for the past 12 years. Columbia is now promoting the use of this tool at 400 sites throughout the country. The Peoria Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership School (CLS) has been surveying the community on behalf of MHAIV, asking ’Will TeenScreen Play in Peoria?’ As parents, we must make certain school officials make mental health a top priority as they work to promote academic achievement."
Community-Based Crisis Intervention Support
So who do you call if you’re concerned about a loved one’s mental health? Or perhaps you’ve experienced depression and you want to join a support group or become active in providing an ear for others who are still struggling? Jones said that since 1969, the Call for Help hotline (673-7373 or 800-784-2433) has been helping central Illinois citizens, providing volunteers who listen to callers with patience and compassion. "We’re here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you or someone you know is struggling, give them this number and encourage them to call. You may save a life."
How You Can Help Protect Our Community
She said that while the Mental Health Association is pleased about these important strides in program funding and implementation, they’re not stopping there. "Now is the time our community must pull together and strengthen our coalition. With your help, we can pass Senate Bill 2175 entitled the ’Youth Suicide Early Intervention and Prevention Expansion Act of 2004.’ This bi-partisan initiative will unquestionably save lives. It’s critical that we fight for the passage of this legislation. Write, call, or e-mail our senators and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of S 2175." For more information on how to advocate for this legislation, contact www.capwiz.com/spanusa.
Jones said the Illinois General Assembly is also entertaining House Bill 654 to implement TeenScreen across the state. "I urge you to add your voice to the chorus asking for state representatives to pass this legislation. Do it for the young person whom no one will suspect is depressed and contemplating suicide, but who might just tell the computerized screening tool of her suffering."
Get Involved and Volunteer
Many of the support groups in our community have volunteer opportunities you can take advantage of, Jones said. "The Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley facilitates the Call for Help and Teens Need Teens hotlines, and the next training takes place June 5, 8, 10, and 12 at Illinois Central College-North Campus. Participants may enroll for three hours of college credit as part of the hotline training." For more information, call Nora Wilburne at 692-1766.
The community offers several support groups specializing in mental health issues. "NAMI Tri-County is a local non-profit organization that provides support groups, educational presentations, and legislative advocacy to aid families of individuals with mental illness. Mood Challenge DBSA is a support group for individuals who experience depression, bipolar disorder, or other major mental illness. These two groups meet on alternate Thursday nights in downtown Peoria. Survivors of Suicide, a support group co-facilitated by survivors for survivors, occurs every other Tuesday night at Methodist Medical Center," Jones said. For more information, call 673-7373.
"With our collective vision and strategic, timely footwork, we can take action to protect our community from the tragedy of suicide. For your child and mine," she said.
For more information on suicide prevention, call the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at 888-333-AFSP or visit www.afsp.org. TPW
Our Children’s Public Health Crisis
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24. Though these statistics are devastating, Jones said there’s hope-through making an impact in our community and introducing/continuing programs that work. "Our hearts go out to the families who’ve lost loved ones to suicide. As a mother, I pray my son will never experience depression or consider suicide. As an advocate, I’ll fight to make certain our community is doing everything it can to prevent this tragedy."
Sherry Bryant is a mental health professional and a personal survivor of suicide. She’s dedicated her efforts to the memory of her son, Todd Bryant, a 22-year-old Bradley University graduate who committed suicide six months after finishing his degree in engineering and four days after being released from an inpatient hospitalization. Bryant, who’s chairperson of the Illinois Suicide Prevention Committee, said, "Suicide is a public health issue-not a weird, bizarre incident. The suicide rate in the United States is 85 people per day. If 85 people died from Firestone tires, we’d hop on it."
Jones said the key is to enhance our understanding of comprehensive, well-researched, and recovery-focused strategies so community and family members can prevent this all-too-common tragedy.
The following paragraphs offer several nationally recognized and well-researched models to employ to save young people from the tragedy of suicide.
Public Awareness Campaigns
In addition to the resource central Illinois has in the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley, Jones said the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) (www.suicidology.org) has granted our community the rights to implement the AFSP "Suicide Should Not Be A Secret" public awareness campaign for youth suicide prevention. "Bit by bit, we must introduce the subject matter and enter the collective mindset with the urgent message that young people need to ask for help when they have thoughts of suicide. Parents, teachers, and friends must ask young people who seem depressed, ’Do you ever think about suicide?’ If they say yes, that’s a sign that the young person needs professional help. Feeling depressed and contemplating suicide isn’t a normal part of being a teenager. This is a red flag."
School-based Prevention Education
Exceptional collaboration is happening in our local community regarding children and adolescent mental health issues, Jones said. "Recently, the Peoria-based Tim Ardis Foundation for Hope granted $3,500 for implementation of the Red Flags Depression Awareness Program for middle school students. Thanks to the Joining Forces for Children (JFFC) Early Identification Task Force, Red Flags is being implemented in several local schools by mental health educators from NAMI Tri-County, the Mental Health Association, and other organizations to educate young people, teachers, and parents about the signs of depression."
Another source of assistance came in the form of a $2,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Central Illinois, intended for the implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program for middle school and high school students. "Whereas Red Flags educates about symptoms, Yellow Ribbon takes the prevention education a step further to intervention," Jones said. "In other words, when teachers, parents, and students identify the signs of depression and/or thoughts of suicide, they must take action to get these young people the help they so desperately need. If they have to take them by the arm or sit with them until the issue can be addressed with a mental health professional, they should do so."
She said the President’s New Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health names early identification of mental illness as one the key objectives within the vision statement. "One means for early identification is systematic screening. Columbia University’s TeenScreen (www.teenscreen.org) is a computerized, interactive screening tool that’s been identified by the Commission as having been proven effective for the past 12 years. Columbia is now promoting the use of this tool at 400 sites throughout the country. The Peoria Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership School (CLS) has been surveying the community on behalf of MHAIV, asking ’Will TeenScreen Play in Peoria?’ As parents, we must make certain school officials make mental health a top priority as they work to promote academic achievement."
Community-Based Crisis Intervention Support
So who do you call if you’re concerned about a loved one’s mental health? Or perhaps you’ve experienced depression and you want to join a support group or become active in providing an ear for others who are still struggling? Jones said that since 1969, the Call for Help hotline (673-7373 or 800-784-2433) has been helping central Illinois citizens, providing volunteers who listen to callers with patience and compassion. "We’re here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you or someone you know is struggling, give them this number and encourage them to call. You may save a life."
How You Can Help Protect Our Community
She said that while the Mental Health Association is pleased about these important strides in program funding and implementation, they’re not stopping there. "Now is the time our community must pull together and strengthen our coalition. With your help, we can pass Senate Bill 2175 entitled the ’Youth Suicide Early Intervention and Prevention Expansion Act of 2004.’ This bi-partisan initiative will unquestionably save lives. It’s critical that we fight for the passage of this legislation. Write, call, or e-mail our senators and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of S 2175." For more information on how to advocate for this legislation, contact www.capwiz.com/spanusa.
Jones said the Illinois General Assembly is also entertaining House Bill 654 to implement TeenScreen across the state. "I urge you to add your voice to the chorus asking for state representatives to pass this legislation. Do it for the young person whom no one will suspect is depressed and contemplating suicide, but who might just tell the computerized screening tool of her suffering."
Get Involved and Volunteer
Many of the support groups in our community have volunteer opportunities you can take advantage of, Jones said. "The Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley facilitates the Call for Help and Teens Need Teens hotlines, and the next training takes place June 5, 8, 10, and 12 at Illinois Central College-North Campus. Participants may enroll for three hours of college credit as part of the hotline training." For more information, call Nora Wilburne at 692-1766.
The community offers several support groups specializing in mental health issues. "NAMI Tri-County is a local non-profit organization that provides support groups, educational presentations, and legislative advocacy to aid families of individuals with mental illness. Mood Challenge DBSA is a support group for individuals who experience depression, bipolar disorder, or other major mental illness. These two groups meet on alternate Thursday nights in downtown Peoria. Survivors of Suicide, a support group co-facilitated by survivors for survivors, occurs every other Tuesday night at Methodist Medical Center," Jones said. For more information, call 673-7373.
"With our collective vision and strategic, timely footwork, we can take action to protect our community from the tragedy of suicide. For your child and mine," she said.
For more information on suicide prevention, call the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at 888-333-AFSP or visit www.afsp.org. TPW