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On
June 15, 2006 over 40 community leaders and professionals
met at St. Denis Golf Course in Chardon to participate in
the unveiling of the Geauga County Suicide Prevention Strategic
Plan - an initiative of the Geauga Community Board of Mental
Health and Recovery Services Board.
In
August of 2005, the Geauga County Board of Mental Health
Recovery Services received a $10,000 grant from the Ohio
Department of Mental Health to form a community suicide
prevention coalition. The coalition is responsible for
educating the public about suicide prevention, informing individuals
that help is available, and enlisting the support of the community
to save lives.
Former
surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. wrote that our
nation loses 30,000 lives to suicide each year, while another
650,000 receive emergency care after attempting to take their
own lives. Suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in Ohio.
Nearly 20% of high school students in Ohio have seriously
contemplated suicide and it is the 3rd largest killer of youth
ages 10-24.
With
nearly half of the states engaged in suicide prevention plans
and programs, most of the plans recognize that much of the
work must occur at a local level, where human relationships
breathe life into public policy.
The
Geauga County Coroner's Office ruled that 80 deaths occurred
due to suicide from 1994-2004. Individuals as young as 14
and as old as 95 have completed suicide in Geauga County over
this 10 year period. In 2003, four deaths that occurred in
Geauga County were ruled to be suicides, but in 2004, that
number jumped to thirteen. Suicide is not just a problem in
other locations. It is an issue for Geauga County today.
Some
individuals think that people who attempt suicide are dealing
with mental illness. Others believe that addiction is what
leads to suicide. The real common denominator among those
who have attempted suicide is a feeling of desperate hopelessness
and depression.
Depression
is a "wiring" issue in the brain. Cells in the amygdala, hippocampus,
and limbic systems become damaged. Individuals struggling
with depression feel helpless to solve their problems. They
feel that suicide is the only way they can relieve their pain.
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Deanna Brant, Director Emergency Services
Speaks at Suicide Prevention Coalition Luncheon.
Jim Adams, Executive Director of the Geauga
County Board of Mental Health and Recovery
Services hosted the luncheon while guests (below) learned
about the coalition and their strategic plan.
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