Save a Life

Roman Davis
Staff Writer
   The month of September is the keeper of many things; one of those being Suicide Prevention Month. It was first declared and created in 1999 by Surgeon General David Satcher who issued his Call to Action to Prevent Suicide; in 2008, the community suffering with these issues created National Suicide Prevention Month in hopes that it would help others in need and raise awareness. Since then, this month has been made a time to acknowledge those affected by suicidal thoughts, spread knowledge, and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to services that help prevent more deaths from happening.
   According to the CDC, more than 41,000 individuals commit suicide annually; it is labeled the tenth leading cause of death among adults in the U.S. and the second leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults. As years pass, these rates are steadily increasing. Health research also indiciates that people with substance use disorders are almost six times as likely to attempt suicide at some point in their lives compared to others who do not have these disorders. To help prevent this from happening, the community has a multitude of resources that are able to help year round and run fundraisers during this month to help others in need. Bonneville High School has its own resource called Hope Squad, run by students within the school itself.
   One of these resources that works year round is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and is dedicated to supporting others in the United States. Their website states, “Ultimately, NAMI wants any person experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviors to have a number to call, a system to turn to, that would connect them to the treatment and support they need.” The Alliance has a multitude of resources to turn to such as phone lines, text lines and even a website. These resources are for anyone to use and share to others needing help; a small reminder that the community is not alone in its struggle and that NAMI is here to help.
Some resources to go to are down below, please share them with others in need of aid.

• If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or severe suicidal thoughts and is wanting to act on them, call or text 988 immediately.
• If you or said person are uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can chat at the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org. 
• You can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.