The past two months representatives from the Space Coast Health Foundation and Lifetime Counseling Center have attended meetings of local governments across Brevard County to garner official support for National Suicide Prevention month, which runs through September.
It’s a project that started in June by our former Bank of America student leadership intern, Dhyana Mishra. She began sending requests for resolutions and proclamations of support to coincide with Suicide Prevention Month.
The response from the cities was extremely positive and heartening. Dhyana, before leaving for her freshman year at Princeton University, joined the Foundation’s Lisa Hickman at the West Melbourne City Council meeting for one of the first proclamation presentations.
That same night, the Foundation’s Wayne Price joined Kelly Haskins in Cape Canaveral for a similar proclamation. Kelly, an executive at Launch Credit Union, lost her son, Hunter, in 2021. He was a Merritt Island High School graduate and was in his first year at the University of Central Florida when he died by suicide. Kelly launched an initiative called “You Matter” to focus on preventing tragedies like the one suffered by her and her family.
Kelly’s “You Matter” project enjoyed an enthusiastic and exuberant – and yes, hot and humid Sept. 16 on Merritt Island to further publicize the suicide prevention campaign. As one participant at that event told the Space Coast Health Foundation, “if we helped one person, saved one life, then it was all worth it.”
That’s why it’s so important to have lawmakers offer their support to suicide prevention efforts. To date, the Foundation has received proclamations from the cities of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne, Rockledge, Palm Bay, Titusville, West Melbourne, and the Brevard School Board.
The proclamations ask for support in helping to prevent suicides.
In part the proclamation reads: “According to the CDC, last year, nearly 50,000 lives were lost due to intentional self-harm, which equates to nearly 15 deaths for every 100,000 people;
“and WHEREAS: Over 90% of the people who die by suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental health condition, although that condition is often not recognized or treated;
“and WHEREAS: Being honest and willing to have open discussions concerning the importance of mental health remains key to assist those who may be suffering and contemplating suicide; and WHEREAS: One major hurdle to overcome is removing the stigma attached to mental health treatment, which can save lives.”
Brevard School Board member Megan Wright summed up the tragedy of suicide, particularly when it comes to our students, when the school board unanimously passed its resolution and offered its full support.
“It’s such a permanent decision for a temporary problem for a lot of these kids,” she said of deaths by suicide. “It’s truly going to take a community to resolve this.”
When I received the proclamation from Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey, he thanked us for our efforts and then added a personal note.
“I don’t tell a lot of people,” Mayor Alfrey said, “but I lost my grandfather to suicide, and it touched my family. This, means a lot to our community.”
Resolutions, proclamations, and speeches may not sound like much when it comes to truly helping people, but I know it’s extremely important to have the support of cities, and community leaders behind this outreach. And the actions coincide with Lifetime Counseling Center’s efforts, using a $625,000 state appropriation, to provide awareness and preventative mental and behavioral health services for our community.
The goal of the LCC initiative is to address problems earlier, rather than later when situations can be more tragic.
To that end, we look forward to introducing a special project to the public very soon. Stay tuned.
The main message we wanted officials and others to convey to the community is that the Space Coast is a community that cares and it has people who will listen.
Lawmakers’ efforts these last two months prove Brevard County is a community that listens, that we care.
By Johnette Gindling, President/CEO, Space Coast Health Foundation