This article focuses on issues around suicide and may be distressing for some readers. If you are experiencing suicidal emotions or know someone who is, Colorado Crisis Services can be reached by calling 844-493-8255 or texting TALK to 38255. Other resources are listed at the end of this article.
The March 28 Elbert County Public Health Weekly Update focused on suicide prevention — and while National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is not until September, Elbert County has experienced an uptick in suicides that made the update particularly timely.
The update read, in part: “Elbert County is currently experiencing an unusually high volume of deaths by suicide. In less than three weeks, five Elbert County residents have died by suicide. So far in 2024, six residents have died by suicide.” The entire county usually averages about eight deaths by suicide in a whole year.
The six lives lost to suicide in Elbert County in the first three months of 2024 were two 22-year-old men, a 31-year-old woman, two 47-year-old men and a 60-year-old man. One death was in mid-January and the five others were in an 18-day span of March.
From a statewide perspective, Elbert County Health Public Health Director Dwayne Smith explained, half of deaths by suicide are from firearms. Suicide rates in Colorado remain steady but showed a slight decrease in 2022 compared to 2021.
Elbert County is ranked as one of the healthiest counties in Colorado but even so, there will always be those who have mental or behavioral health struggles. Suicide rates are an important indicator of the overall health of a community and every community has a need for mental health awareness, support and resources.
Smith emphasized that suicide affects every member of the community and is a public health crisis. “Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Coloradans ages 10 to 44, which makes it likely we all know someone affected by this issue,” Smith said.
When asked what can be done to lower suicide rates locally, Smith said it’s important to create a culture open to discussing mental health and advocating for public policies that make suicide prevention a priority.
This includes steps like ensuring access to mental health and substance abuse treatment and services, support for military service members and veterans, relevant school policies and personnel training, and training for health professionals.
To that end, Elbert County Public Health staff have participated in training to build their knowledge, skills and preparedness to lead more empathetic conversations on behavioral health.
Agency fights stigma
ECPH has been working for years to destigmatize conversations about mental health. Fear of social judgment is a common barrier to seeking help and it is common in rural communities for people to assume these issues are private and do not need to be discussed. ECPH is working to actively raise awareness, share resources and normalize the conversation.
Later this year ECPH will launch an online platform to assist residents with stress, including parenting, caregiving, self-care and more. A resource residents can access in the privacy of their home can help alleviate some of the anxiety around finding the right resources or meeting one-on-one with a provider.
ECPH would also like to establish a local branch of the Coffee Break Project. The Coffee Break Project, first developed in the southeastern Colorado community of Rocky Ford, CO, educates farmers and ranchers about agricultural stress and encourages them to check in on their neighbors. Smith said the initiative also coordinates weekly coffee breaks so “ag producers have an opportunity to connect and look after one another as closely as they do their crops or herd.”
Improving mental health is a community effort; it’s not only up to organizations like Centennial Mental Health, ECPH, school districts or the faith community to address and find solutions. From a public health perspective, Smith added, this is known as a “collective impact” approach.
On an individual level, the University of New Hampshire recommends remaining calm if you discover or hear a friend is considering suicide. “Your friend has reached out to you for help — it may not feel like it in the moment, but this is good news,” UNH writes. “This means that you may be able to facilitate your friend getting the help they need. It does NOT mean that you are responsible to solve the problem yourself.”
Sometimes friends experiencing a mental health crisis might not even show it. Social media is full of reminders to “check on your happy friends.” Even those who appear happy could be managing something like high-functioning anxiety or depression. Simply checking in with someone can provide them an opportunity to communicate their real feelings.
Taking initiative to check in is also important because people with depression or anxiety can feel guilty sharing because they don’t want to bring others down, can act like everything is fine because they don’t want to acknowledge their uncomfortable feelings, or are just trying to “fake it until they make it.”
Ways to find help
Colorado has several suicide prevention and mental health resources available, all of which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Colorado Crisis Services at coloradocrisisservices.org provides free and confidential support from trained professionals and peer specialists, available by calling 844-493-TALK (8255) or by texting TALK to 38255.
• Colorado Suicide Prevention Resource Center at sprc.org/states/colorado.
• Crisis Text Line at crisistextline.org can be reached by texting HOME to 741741; Crisis Text Line is a nationwide resource connecting people with a live, trained crisis counselor. Counselors are trained to help with challenges like anxiety, bullying, depression, eating disorders, emotional abuse, gun violence and loneliness.
• Man Therapy can be found at mantherapy.org. The majority of deaths by suicide in Colorado and in Elbert County are men. Man Therapy was created several years ago by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Office of Suicide Prevention in an effort to address the challenges of communicating with men about their mental health.
The Man Therapy interactive mental health campaign uses humor to cut through stigma and tackle issues like depression, divorce and anxiety. The message is that men should treat their mental health like they would a broken leg and take necessary steps towards healing.
• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is at 988lifeline.org. People can call or text 988 for support. Callers can also use 988 to chat if they are in crisis or worried about a loved one who may need support, including having thoughts of suicide or experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis.
• The Trevor Project is at thetrevorproject.org. The Trevor Project is a leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ young people. Call, text or chat from their site or text START to 678-678.
To receive the Elbert County Public Health Weekly Updates, email Dwayne.Smith@elbertcounty-co.gov or go to elbertcounty-co.gov/532/Public-Health-Weekly-Updates.
Statewide suicide statistics are available at cdphe.colorado.gov/colorado-suicide-statistics.