Suicide prevention program aims to spread awareness

By Zoe Deal

When the results of Washington state’s Healthy Youth Survey came out recently, Blaine school officials and community leaders grew emboldened to make an impact. The deeply troubling results from questions on thoughts of suicide, not much changed from the 2016 survey, have spurred stronger action.

One such example is the “Talk Saves Lives” suicide prevention program to be held at Blaine city hall on Thursday, May 16 at 7 p.m. It includes an hour-long presentation on local statistics and suicide prevention tactics along with 30 minutes of discussion.

“We don’t want people to be afraid to talk about it,” said trainer and Healthy Youth Coalition North County board member Jim McKinney.

According to McKinney, there was an initial hesitation to address the problem before and after the 2016 statistics came out. But since the Healthy Youth Coalition was formed in the wake of the study results, community awareness has increased and momentum has grown, McKinney said.

The Healthy Youth Coalition is holding the event in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a voluntary organization that seeks to empower communities to take action against suicide through research, education and advocacy.

“The Healthy Youth Coalition is aware of the devastating impact suicide has had on our community and especially our youth,” said Jesse Creydt, Healthy Youth Coalition president. “That’s why we need to support suicide prevention programs and community education like Talk Saves Lives, Making a Difference – Helping Other People Everywhere (MAD HOPE) and Signs of Suicide (SOS).”

MAD HOPE is a collaborative program that includes the Whatcom County health department, the Bellingham public school district, the Whatcom Family and Community Network and the Whatcom Prevention Coalition. It is a 1.5-hour training workshop that is aimed at offering youth hope through positive action. Meanwhile, SOS is a universal, school-based depression awareness and suicide prevention program designed for middle school and high school students.

For McKinney, the issue is personal. “We have three children in the schools, so it’s important to us,” he said.

The survey, given every other year to students in the sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades, is comprised of 244 questions covering alcohol, drug use, family life, nutrition and mental health. The 2018 survey results show that a third of Blaine students surveyed reported experiencing depressive feelings in the last year, and one in five who answered a question about suicide said they had made a plan for suicide in the past year (about one-third of students surveyed answered this question).

Through this event, the Healthy Youth Coalition hopes to inform and spread awareness further into the community. They’ve already made huge strides in the few years they’ve been around and are devoted to the safety and health of Blaine’s youth.

“Ultimately, the biggest thing we want is to give people hope and let them know there’s someone out there who cares,” McKinney said.

The program is open to all. Mental health providers will be available throughout the event. For more information on the program, visit asfp.org or healthyyouthnow.com.