RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
Across the state, multiple groups are doing what they can to bring more attention to this issue and let those struggling know that they are not alone.
Last year nearly 50,000 deaths nationwide were due to suicide.
For years, Lost&Found has been providing resources, trainings and look to as their motto says “DO MORE” to eliminate suicide among young adults.
“Showing up for people can really be impactful. So the more that we can do that and encourage these conversations regarding mental health and the power of showing up can be really helpful.” Lost&Found Community Prevention Advisor Whitney Bischoff said.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for college students.
“Being able to have resources available like the counseling office, like Lost&Found and the mentorship where young people have maybe an older student they can reach out to, or a counselor they can talk to about things is really important in their development,” School of Mines Director of Counseling Duane Kavanaugh said.
“I’ve struggled with depression myself and it’s definitely been really nice to have friends who are there for me, have a wonderful boyfriend who’s there for me. And I’ve had to be that for other people on campus, my sibling has dealt with a lot of depression and so I’ve had to be there for them. So it’s nice to be able to be there for people who need it, especially since I’m coming out of the bright side of the tunnel,” Mines student Laura Hubbs said.
Events like Chalk the Walk across South Dakota have shown great success with college volunteers stepping up.
“It starts with the young people who say this is important, these are important topics to talk about and really de-stigmatizing that. Making it just part of everyone is going to experience a mental health challenge. And so talking about that together and having these hope messages together makes it less isolating so that they know they don’t have to go through it alone,” Bischoff said.
Across these campuses, people are noticing the next generation taking steps to help their peers.
“Yeah, this generation is much more open to that. They’re much more willing to talk about their problems and they’re much more, I think in many ways, socially aware of why we need to have these things,” Kavanaugh said.
Something as simple as asking how they are doing, can make all the difference in someone’s day.
“For me, as an attempted survivor, it was people that showed up and noticed that I was here and that can make such a huge difference. So I always preach that you never know the impact that you have on somebody’s life, so let’s make it a positive impact,” Bischoff said.
“And to see messages that are out there that make you hopefully want to stick around. So it’s really important to keep spreading that message year-round because this isn’t just something that happens in September. It’s something that’s going on year-round, something we are trying to make sure people have to deal with less,” Hubbs said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, calling or texting 988 can help get someone the right resources to fight this battle together.
As part of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Lost&Found will be hosting their “Stories of Resilience” events at colleges statewide.
