Every year in September, mental health advocates, prevention organizations, survivors, allies and community members unite to promote suicide prevention awareness. This is also an opportunity to reduce the stigma that often surrounds the topic of suicide and mental health conditions, said Cindy Thompson, a human sciences specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Spread awareness and break the stigma by joining in the “Step Up, Reach Out” Suicide Awareness 9th Annual Walk. The Saturday, Sept. 30, event begins at 9 a.m., with registration, followed by a short program at 10 a.m., and the walk immediately after the presentation held at Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health at 905 Montgomery Street in Decorah.
The guest speaker is Becky Bina of Cresco and events include a memory wall, kids’ activities, roll call, raffles and suicide awareness materials.
The walk is stroller and pet-friendly. Free will donations go towards suicide prevention education, provision of mental health services to un-or-underinsured individuals and support for families and friends who have lost someone to suicide.
Step up, save a life
The “Step Up, Reach Out” Walk has provided education throughout the northeast Iowa community and schools over the last nine years. The need to continue to provide support is evidenced by recent statistics released by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). After declining in 2019 and 2020, suicide deaths increased approximately five percent in the United States in June 2021. The provisional estimates indicated that suicide deaths increased in 2022, rising from 48,183 deaths in 2021 to an estimated 49,449 deaths in 2022, an increase of about 2.6 percent.
Although males make up 50 percent of the population, they account for nearly 80 percent of all suicides. According to the CDC, people who are age 85 years or older have the highest suicide rates. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in people ages 10-34.
“Children and youth often struggle with how to cope with stress. Youth can be particularly overwhelmed when their stress is connected to a traumatic event — like a natural disaster, family loss, school shootings or community violence,” said Thompson, who specializes in family wellbeing.
Parents, caregivers and educators can take steps to provide stability and support that help young people feel better. Adults can try to maintain as much of a normal routine as possible.
“Listen to what your child is telling you about their stress and/or fears and watch and listen for changes in behavior. Reassure your child of their safety and know the resources in your community to reach out to,” Thompson said.
“Suicide is a preventable kind of death, and one person has the ability to step up and help save a life. Evidence shows that providing support services, reducing access to means of self-harm, talking with the individual about suicidal thoughts, feelings or plans, and following up with the individual we are concerned about can help save a life,” Thompson said.
Five steps
Pledge to learn more and do more to help support family members, friends or colleagues who may be thinking about suicide. The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline suggest five steps to help safeguard people from the risk of suicide and support them when in crisis:
• Ask: Asking and talking about suicide may reduce rather than increase suicide ideation.
• Help keep them safe: Reducing a person’s access to lethal means is an important part of suicide prevention.
• Be there: Increasing someone’s connectedness to others and limiting their isolation has shown to be a protective factor against suicide.
• Help them connect: Individuals that called the 988 Lifeline were significantly more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful by the end of calls.
• Follow up: After you have connected a person experiencing thoughts of suicide with the immediate support systems that they need, following-up with them to see how they are doing can help increase their feelings of connectedness and support. There’s evidence that even a simple form of reaching out can potentially reduce that person’s risk of suicide.
Resources
Locally, contact an ISU Extension and Outreach county office to sign up for a Mental Health First Aid training or a Question, Persuade, Refer, (QPR) suicide prevention training. These trainings can inform of some of the suicide warning signs such as talking about wanting to die or having no reason to live, fear of being a burden to others, giving away possessions, withdrawing from others, increased use of alcohol or drugs, talking about themselves in past tense and extreme mood swings.
ISU Extension and Outreach also has resources for dealing with stress on the farm, Thompson said.
Nationally, there are many hotlines and messaging services if you or someone you know is thinking about suicide.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 for 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress.
• Veterans Crisis Line. Veterans and their loved ones can text 838-255 or dial 988 then press 1 for to get 24/7 confidential crisis support. Many of the responders are veterans themselves.
• The Trevor Project. Text “Start” to 678-678, call 866-488-7386 or chat at www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/. Trained counselors are available 24/7 to support people under 25 who are in crisis, feeling suicidal or in need of a safe and judgment-free place to talk. The Trevor Project specializes in supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline. Call 800-662-4357 (HELP) or text your zip code to 435748 (HELP4U) for free, confidential treatment referral and information for individuals and families in need. The helpline is available 24/7, 365-days-a-year and has English and Spanish language options.
• Iowa Concern Hotline. Call 800-447-1985, to reach the ISU Extension and Outreach hotline. Resource services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week at no charge. Iowa Concern has access to an attorney for legal education, stress counselors, and information and referral services for a wide variety of topics.
“Suicide is a preventable kind of death, and one person has the ability to step up and help save a life."– Cindy Thompson, human sciences specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
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