UMaine Machias recognizing National Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month with several events

Throughout September, the University of Maine at Machias will host multiple events designed to increase awareness and support for individuals and families affected by suicide and suicidal ideation.

During World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10, UMaine Machias Counseling Center will share resources on suicide prevention and awareness to its Facebook page. Individuals at home are encouraged to light traditional or electronic candles, while on-campus students may use items that emit a flameless glow, in their windows at 8 p.m. and change their social media profile pictures to lit candles as a show of awareness and support.

Students, faculty, staff and community members are also invited to a suicide prevention and awareness discussion led by Cherry on Sept. 12 from 6-7:30 p.m. in room 228 of Torrey Hall. Cherry will discuss basic attitudes and beliefs about suicide, risk factors, warning signs and simple interventions and approaches to intervene with someone who may be contemplating suicide.

The annual Out of the Darkness Walk will take place Sept. 18. This is a nationwide walk and is designed provide opportunities for people to open up about their own struggles or losses and change how mental health is discussed.The walk will begin at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Performing Arts Center on campus and end at the foot of College Hill at the Suicide Memorial/Support Tree, where there will be a candlelight vigil. Participants are invited to share their thoughts and reflect on their direct or indirect experiences with suicide. Participants are encouraged to wear T-shirts and make signs in support of suicide prevention and awareness.

Throughout the month, the Suicide Memorial/Support Tree and outdoor Suicide Memorial/Awareness Display, which will feature pinwheels representing lives lost annually to suicide in Maine, will be available on the lawn bordering College Hill. Each color emitted from the lights on the Suicide Memorial/Support Tree have different meanings: purple for honoring those lost by suicide, blue for acknowledging those who support suicide prevention/awareness and green for expressing solidarity with those who are presently struggling with suicidal thoughts. Students, faculty, staff and community members may use the provided materials at the tree to write supportive messages or to remember a loved one who have lost their life by suicide.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the rate of suicide in Maine, like the nation as a whole, has been increasing since 2007. An average of 268 Maine citizens die by suicide each year, higher than any other northeastern states and 15-20% above the national rate. A Maine citizen is almost 7 times more likely to die by suicide than from homicide.

"As mental health problems continue to increase due to various factors - stress from economic struggles, access to health care, relationship difficulties, etc. - so do the risks of people taking their own lives," says Stacey Cherry, a mental health counselor at UMaine Machias. "Saving someone from taking their own life starts with listening and developing a connection. Just by saying, "I'm here for you and I care", can start the conversation to ask the question "Are you having thoughts of suicide?" and get them help immediately. These are the steps to save a life."

For more information about these events or to request reasonable accommodation, call 207.255.1343.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call AMHC Crisis Services, 1.888.568.1112 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 988 (call or text) or chat at 988lifeline.org.

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