MONROE — This month, organizations across the country are joining forces to recognize Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This is a time to raise awareness about an often taboo and stigmatized topic. The National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s message during this month is to #BeThe1To. This message is meant to highlight the fact that everyone can take actions that help prevent suicide.
Below are small steps that community members can take to help prevent suicide:
● Learn the warning signs of suicide at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
help-someone-else/.
● Reach out to loved ones to show them you care. Check-in through a text and simply ask, “How are you?”
● It is ok to ask someone directly if they’ve been feeling like they want to hurt themselves or thinking about suicide.
● Connect loved ones to resources that can help them such as the 988 Lifeline or other local mental health providers.
● Follow up with people about how they are doing and the resources they may be utilizing.
Anyone can call or text 988 to get connected to the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, to talk with a trained counselor. Resources for individuals struggling with thoughts of suicide are also available in our community. Green County Human Services has a Substance Recovery & Mental Health Wellness Navigator. This person is a free resource that can help connect people to local resources and provide screening and brief interventions. Call (608) 328-9396 or email mhm@gchsd.org to get connected to the Navigator. Community members can also visit the Southwest Behavioral Health Partnership website to find mental health resources in and around Green County: https://behavioralhealthpartnership.org/. Community members can also download the Got Your Back App from the App Store or Google Play, created by Jacob’s SWAG Foundation. This is a new digital platform for suicide awareness, prevention, and education. There are tools custom-built for the user to help cope with anxiety and depression.
There are also several organizations in our community that offer trainings and support groups related to mental health. Visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Green County website, https://namigree
ncounty.org/, the UW-Extension Green County website, https://green.extension.wisc.edu/, or the Prevent Suicide Wisconsin website: https://www.preventsuicidewi.org/home, for more information.
There are many complex factors that can contribute to suicide, and the goal of suicide prevention is to reduce factors that increase the risk of suicide and increase factors that promote resilience and hope. For many years in Green County, Mental Health has been a health priority in the Green County Health Community Coalition’s community health improvement plan. Organizations across Green County have been working collaboratively to raise awareness about mental health, provide education to the community, and facilitate services and programs that will support community members’ mental health. Community members interested in getting involved in suicide prevention, please go to the Green County Healthy Community Coalition website: http://greencohcc.org/.
Green County Public Health would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of those who have died by suicide.
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