NAMI Four County’s meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 5 will focus on suicide awareness and prevention.
The meeting, which is open to the public, starts at 7 p.m. at the ADAMhs Board office, T-761 State Route 66 south of Archbold.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, according to data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Last year, some 49,449 persons completed suicide – about 2.6 percent more than in 2021. And men were nearly four times more likely to die by suicide than women.
By age, 6,529 persons 10 to 24 years of age died by suicide last year. Some 16,843 between the ages of 25 and 44 died; 15,632 between the ages of 45 and 64; and 10,433 persons 65 and older died by suicide.
Other C.D.C. numbers are even more astounding: 12.3 million adults considered taking their own life. About 3.5 million of those persons went so far as to devise a plan for completing suicide, and 1.7 million adults attempted suicide.
Billie Jo (B.J.) Horner, the local NAMI chapter president, said that depression or some other mental health disorder is usually the common thread leading to thoughts of suicide.
“We emphasize that depression is treatable, and suicide is preventable,” said Horner, who is also involved with the Four County Suicide Prevention Coalition and one of the area’s Mental Health First Aid instructors.
The September 5 NAMI meeting will focus on how to recognize the signs of suicide and steps that can be taken to prevent suicide.
In addition to Horner, Tammy Breininger will share her story of loss to suicide. It will be two years ago on October 26 when her son, Jason, completed suicide.
Since then, Breininger has used art to help raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention. She has also recently joined the Four County Local Outreach to Survivors of Suicide (L.O.S.S.) team to help others who have experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide.
NAMI Four County is an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest education and advocacy group for family members, friends and persons living with a mental illness.
For more information about the local chapter and its free programming, visit its website: www.namifourcounty.org.