Suicide prevention resources available in northeast Colorado

Mental wellness and suicide prevention are key public health issues. According to the Colorado Health Information Dataset, suicide is a leading cause of death among Colorado youth ages 10-24. The recent suicides in our region are a reminder that we can all play a part in preventing suicide.

Our culture is often uncomfortable talking about mental health and/or suicide, and there is often a stigma associated with asking for help. Suicide is complex and rarely the result of only one cause.

There are often a variety of circumstances including relationship problems, financial hardships, chronic pain, bullying or feeling isolated that contribute to someone feeling suicidal. There may or may not be underlying mental health diagnoses as well. A common response to suicide is to oversimplify the cause.

Life is challenging at times for all of us, and no one gets through life unscathed. Resilience — the ability to recover from difficulties — is influenced by several risk factors as well as protective factors in an individual’s life.

Local mental health care providers, both public and private, cannot prevent suicide alone. Prevention will require the entire community being willing to be a part of the solution. People must have the hard conversations, and someone has to listen.

Teens need to be able to talk to adults they can trust — a parent, mentor or other adults in leadership roles. It is important that youth, teens and adults have at least one trusted person in their life, and we all have the potential to be a good listener for someone in distress.

The first step in being a part of preventing suicide is learning the warning signs or risk factors of suicide as well as learning skills to respond and resources available when someone is struggling.

Warning signs can include a loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, withdrawing from friends or family, or avoiding social activities.

Local suicide prevention resources include Centennial Mental Health Center, which is providing community outreach and evidence-based suicide prevention training opportunities to the communities of northeast Colorado.

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