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Editor’s Note: September is National Suicide Prevention Month.

The topic of suicide, by nature, is hard for many people to discuss.

However, Michele Kelly-Thompson, executive director of the Human Services Center, in New Castle, said national statistics show that whenever a suicide occurs, that usually affects, on average, 115 people in a community.

This includes the individual’s family, friends, coworkers and other acquaintances they may have.

“It’s much more of an impact on the community than a lot of people think,” Kelly-Thompson said. “The community doesn’t necessarily have an awareness of the number of people who die by suicide, and that they may not be sensitive to the issue.”

Scott Baldwin, director for Lawrence County Mental Health and Developmental Services (MH/DS), said recently suicides in the county this year are increasing compared to 2021, with 11 suicides in 2021 and 11 so far this year.

“What the reason is, we don’t know,” he said. “There’s a variety of reasons behind it, and it does affect our county when we lose one person.”

In comparison, for Beaver County, there were 19 in 2019, 25 in 2020, 18 in 2021, and the number so far in 2022 has not been released, according to Gerard Mike, the administrator for Beaver County Behavioral Health and director for the newly-formed county Human Services Department.

Kelly-Thompson, Baldwin, and Mike all spoke about the importance of mental health care/suicide prevention care, and noted the different programs in each county to help with that endeavor.

Discussing suicide prevention early

Kelly-Thompson believes that when it comes to the topic of suicide, the conversation around it needs to happen to people at a young age, in which the subject must include mental health and overall body wellness.

“Sometimes, it’s much easier for people to understand that someone is having a mental health problem if they are able to see if it’s something relatable to what they may experience, or they may have a family member that has experience,” she said.

Added Kelly-Thompson: “Suicidal thoughts can be a part of depression, it can be part of different mental health disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, some of the more serious mental health issues.”

She said there have been many studies, conducted by groups all across the country, which state there are often many factors contributing to an individual feeling suicidal or contemplating suicide, rather than just one incident or factor.

“It’s usually many, many stressors that sort of converge on the individual, and they’re not able, in that particular moment, to see any solutions or hope, and they’re not viewing that they can reach out for help,” Kelly-Thompson said.

“So, one of the really important things that I would like to stress to people is we all have an opportunity to reach out to everyone, and have discussion about mental health and wellness, and that there is always hope, that people are experiencing stress, and we as a community can be the support system that offers them encouragement and support to get help,” she said.

Kelly-Thompson said it is important for everyone to try and help those in need, whether it be as a family member, a friend, a community member or a professional.

Ending the stigma of mental health

Kelly-Thompson said one of the biggest barriers for people to get the mental health treatment that they need is the stigma surrounding mental health issues and treatment as a whole.

She said we, as a society, need to understand that everyone has their own life stressors, and that everyone needs to feel comfortable talking about their mental health, and make it as big of a priority as their physical health.

“We try to have conservations that make people understand that our brain and our head are part of what’s going on with our overall well-being,” Kelly-Thompson said. “That’s where we start a lot of our conversations, making it less of a stigma to be able to talk about that.”

She said over the years, as mental health agencies appeared at different community events and stress the importance of mental health, people have come up to them and shared their stories.

“People are beginning to have more of a comfort level in having that discussion, and we’re seeing more and more that mental health is definitely getting more accepted by the general public, and some recognition that there is a need that everyone needs to work towards their mental health and wellness,” Kelly-Thompson said.

She said when it comes to suicide, any person can be depressed or suicidal, stating it affects people from all walks of life, even those, who, on the outside, feel “happy” or “great.”

Therefore, Kelly-Thompson encourages anyone who is concerned about someone, whether it be a change in their behavior, mood, or daily routine, to not be afraid to ask them how they are and to offer any help they may need.

Residential treatment centers

There are individuals that attend residential treatment centers for a variety of mental health matters, including suicidal thoughts.

Mike said there are times when these individuals can stay in these centers for long periods of time, especially if they are in the criminal justice system.

While Mike said residential treatment centers are a great resource to help people in need, he said he doesn’t want to see people, especially minors, stay there longer than they need to.

He said he has heard of examples where children have been placed in these facilities, which are usually designed for a max of 90 days, being held longer, with some staying until they turn 18.

Different county programs

Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence County, in addition to their general mental health/behavioral health programs, have different programs and providers that provide additional mental health/suicide prevention to residents.

Allegheny County has different providers that provide mental health services, including, but not limited to: Chartiers Center, Milestone Centers Inc., Pittsburgh Mercy, Staunton Clinic, TVC Community Services, UPMC Western Behavioral at Mon Yough, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and Wesley Family Services.

In Beaver County, Mike said there is a program, through the Beaver County System of Care, called Zero Suicide, which is a system-wide organizational commitment toward safer suicide care in health and behavioral health systems.

The program has seven different elements, which are:

• Lead system-wide culture change committed to reducing suicides;
• Train a competent, confident, and caring workforce;
• Identify individuals with suicide risk via comprehensive screening and assessment;
• Engage all individuals at-risk of suicide using a suicide care management plan;
• Treat suicidal thoughts and behaviors using evidence-based treatments;
• Transition individuals through care with warm hand-offs and supportive contacts;
• Improve policies and procedures through continuous quality improvement.

“It’s been, in my mind, successful, in keeping the number of suicide deaths to a minimum, even though one death is too many,” Mike said.

He said as part of the Zero Suicide initiative, there is a Youth Ambassador Program, which is run through Beaver County Behavioral Health, Beaver County System of Care and the Beaver County Rehabilitation Center (BCRC), which he said is making a big difference.

Mike said in the program, which involves every school district in the county, students mentor one another, look out for each other, and discuss their mental health issues with each other in a supportive way.

He said the students in the program are all welcoming and nonjudgmental, stating in his 36 years of mental health experience, this program represents the biggest difference he has seen in ending the stigma of mental health and mental health treatment, particularly for minors.

In Lawrence County, Kelly-Thompson said, since 2014, there has been a Lawrence County Suicide Prevention Coalition.

In the coalition, mental health and social service representatives have spoken to the community through different educational programs, with support from the county board of commissioners, coroner’s office and representatives from different county school districts.

There is an annual “Out of the Darkness Walk,” which is described as a journey of remembrance, hope, and support, and unites communities in acknowledging how suicide and mental health conditions affect our daily lives, and remembering the lives that were lost.

The next walk is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sept. 17, at Riverwalk Community Park at 250 E. Washington St. in New Castle. To register, go to afsp.org/NewCastle.

Kelly-Thompson said agencies, like MH/DS and the Human Services Center, go to schools and different community events, in order to offer guidance and resources that are available to residents.

They have conducted community presentations on “Talk Saves Lives,” which is an education program/video, from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), on suicide, suicide prevention, and what communities can do to help save lives.

“We also have other folks that have been trained through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, to do some of their educational programs,” Kelly-Thompson said.

She said they work to help veterans, as statistics show the nation loses 22 veterans a day to suicide.

The county is also looking to restart its suicide survivor group for adults over 18 who have lost someone to suicide, which had been on hold since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Baldwin said the county will continue to emphasize mental health treatment for individuals at the Lawrence County Jail, and is looking to start a “Batterers” program for mental health treatment for incarcerated people charged with domestic violence.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

All three counties offer both in-person and Telehealth (virtual) counseling, with UPMC offering a 24-hour crisis helpline at 1-888-796-8226.

There are also the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Billy and Chardae: blessed and lucky

For Chardae Seligsohn, navigating the day-to-day with her 13-year-old son Billy can be challenging.

“I had to quit my job because Billy was doing a lot of dangerous things, like running out of the house,” she said. “I had to get 350 linear feet of fencing, which costs almost as much as my house to put in.”

Seligsohn said she and her husband “knew right away,” that Billy was developmentally delayed. At 3, Billy was diagnosed with autism Level 2 meaning he needs a lot of support.

“He wasn’t hitting the milestones as a baby and, around 16 months, he started to lose eye contact,” she said. “If you called his name or tried to talk to him, he wouldn’t look.”

There were other behaviors such as hair pulling and being nonverbal that also made the case for an autism diagnosis. Billy relies on various therapies to help increase his communication and cognitive skills — including wraparound, a set of individualized mental health services that help children figure out new ways of dealing with their emotions and relationships. He also engages in applied behavior analysis therapy, which aims to decrease problematic behaviors and increase communication and social skills.

In being Billy’s mother, Seligsohn said she has learned so much about herself.

“I feel very blessed and lucky as a parent because I think that special needs children pick their parents,” she said. “I know I could never imagine myself being a parent like this in a million years. It’s hard, but it’s rewarding because I’ve been stretched and pushed to the limits I didn’t think I could ever handle. It teaches a different type of strength and selflessness.”

Jackson: ‘Don’t blame yourself’

Jackson Drake, an 11-year-old from Mt. Lebanon, has hearing loss as a result of enlarged vestibular aqueducts, also known as EVA.

He has profound severe hearing loss in his right ear, so he wears a cochlear implant. For his left ear, he has a hearing aid because he has residual hearing in that ear.

Due to his hearing loss, it’s difficult for him to understand what conversations are going on around him.

For example, Drake said, “when [the teacher] does the microphones, you see, I can only hear her. Mostly I can’t hear anybody else. So it’s really hard to hear my friends.”

Drake wishes that people he meets would not always ask him about his cochlear implant and hearing aid.

“Everybody would ask the question, ‘What is it?’” he said. “They just look at it and stare at it. It makes me feel like they are just focusing on this, instead of me.

“I wish they could stop asking about this and ask me about something else — what’s your name? Something other than my hearing loss.”

He has some advice for those his age who also have hearing loss.

“It’s a small world and a lot of people have problems with their body,” Drake said. “You’re not alone. There’s lots of other people that have problems. Don’t blame yourself, it’s a part of life. You have to deal with some challenges.”

Hannah and Taylor: breaking the ‘glorious silence’ 

Hannah Chicas, a 17-year-old from Bethel Park, is going to be a junior in high school this fall.   She was diagnosed with cytomegalovirus [CMV], which caused her to have mild to moderate hearing loss as an infant. For the first three and a half years of her life, she had hearing aids. At age 4, she switched to cochlear implants when she lost all of her residual hearing.

Like many students with disabilities, Chicas finds that navigating school can be difficult.  Sometimes teachers don’t remember that she is in need of accommodations.

“One of the things I absolutely have to have is captions on TV and on my phone,” Chicas said. “That is something I wish most people would understand and have in school because I have had some teachers forget about it. I would have to remind them. It can also be useful not just for me, so why not have it for everyone?”

Taylor Billet of Oakmont, who is also 17, has only known a life with bilateral cochlear implants.

In Billet’s case, her cochlea was destroyed by bacterial meningitis at 14 months old. She can only hear with her cochlear implants.

“Whenever I don’t want to hear anymore, I can just take it off and enjoy glorious silence,” she said.

But it does present a challenge in the morning. Billet has to take off her implants at night to charge them, so she can’t hear when she wakes up.

The Sonic Bomb alarm clock gets her out of bed on time. The alarm clock comes with a shaker that attaches to her bed to physically shake her awake.

Chicas also uses a bed shaker to help her get out of bed in the morning. While technology can help assist people like Chicas and Billet, they also stress the importance of being advocates for themselves when out and about in the world.

Chicas said it’s important for kids with cochlear implants to be confident in themselves, no matter what life throws at them.

“Don’t be afraid to share and tell who you are with the cochlear implant,” she said. “It doesn’t make a big difference when you have the cochlear implants, you’re just you. It’s like the same thing as wearing glasses. It helps you see. Cochlear implants help you to hear.”

Billet added that there are strategies others should know for communicating with those who have hearing loss. “What works best for us is to be in an environment where there is little to no background noise. … Also to be able to see each other’s faces and for you to not cover your mouth,” she said. “Be patient with me as I try to understand what you are trying to say.”

Regardless of the kind of disability one has, it can be beneficial to find groups of people that understand the difficulties and challenges that one goes through, multiple kids said. Now that they know about Disability Pride Month, some are looking forward to joining in on the experience in the future.

Drake hopes to become an artist one day and said he would like to design a poster that has shells and rocks on it to represent his love for the beach, with a written letter that explains his condition, EVA.

Chicas didn’t know about Disability Pride celebrations. “But now that I know, I can always look forward to it every year.”

Emily Sauchelli is a PublicSource editorial intern. She can be reached at emilys@publicsource.org

This story was fact-checked by Punya Bhasin.