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Recognizing signs of a possible suicide before it happens

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. While a worthy cause, one month unfortunately seems inadequate to address an issue of such scope, complexity and, ultimately, tragedy.

Sadly, suicide has been on the rise in the U.S., according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2014, 42,773 people – 9,660 females and a staggering 33,113 males – took their own lives. From 1999 through 2014, the suicide rate increased 24 percent, from 10.5 to 13 per 100,000 in population, with the pace picking up after 2006, the CDC reported.

CDC mortality data showed suicide rates increased over those 15 years for both sexes and for all ages tracked, 10 to 74.

It is the second-leading cause of death among U.S. teens and young adults and the fourth-leading cause of death for adults ages 18 to 65, the local group Community HOPE for Suicide Prevention said.

One particular area of concern is veterans. In Wisconsin, 135 of the 621 suicides in 2014 – almost 18 percent – were veterans, according to the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. The suicide rate for male veterans is twice that of the non-veteran population, the WDVA said.

This means it’s crucial to have more people who can recognize when someone may be considering suicide.

“We are working on combining resources from several areas to provide training to concerned non-medical people who can respond to anyone having suicidal thoughts and making suicidal comments,” WDVA Secretary John A. Scocos said. “We need to open the door to others who are concerned for their loved ones, relatives or friends who are veterans and provide the tools for helpful response.”

Peer support for veterans in trouble is available through Vets4Warriors at 1-855-838-8255 or by texting to 838255. Veterans who are contemplating suicide or having serious issues should call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1.

Locally, Community HOPE for Suicide Prevention will host its eighth annual Out of the Darkness Walk at 11 a.m. Saturday at City Park in Iron Mountain, with registration starting at 9 a.m.

Community HOPE is a non profit organization that works in five counties – Dickinson, Iron and Menominee in Michigan, Florence and Marinette in Wisconsin – to raise awareness about mental illness, “break the stigma, and save lives.” The group also reaches out to area schools so staff and students learn the warning signs so they can help those contemplating suicide.

To pre-register for the walk online, go to outofthedarkness.org. For more information on the event, call Carole Waitrovich at 906-282-5655 or Jensen at 906-396-1019.

Those who may be in more serious need should call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255

“This is a public health issue that does not discriminate by age, gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic status,” Community HOPE said in a press release. “We hold this local event to help raise money for AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention), with research to improve our understanding of suicide and ways to prevent it as well as educational programs to increase awareness about prevention, warning signs and the psychiatric illnesses that can lead to suicide.”

More understanding, more dialog, more intervention before despair becomes overwhelming – that’s the reason for National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

“While we must always be focused on this critical issue,” Scocos said, “Suicide Prevention Awareness Month brings special attention to it, showing how people can help others and learn how to talk about suicide without increasing the risks of harm.”

The Daily News (Iron Mountain)

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