On June 15th, 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.

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.