On March 16th a Parkland High School recent graduate died by suicide. The following week, another student from Parkland took his own life. Last week the father of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook also ended his life. They are all victims of gun violence. We must deal with this health crisis.
The Center for Disease Control reports that there were 1589 gun deaths in Ohio in 2017. 918 of those were suicides and 621 were homicides plus 19 unintentional, 10 undetermined and 21 legal intervention.
The majority of gun deaths every year are suicides and we can do something about it.
There is help for those in need and for those who may need to intervene.
Here is some advice from the National Institute of Mental Health:
1)Ask
2)Keep Them Safe
3)#BeThere
4)Help Them Connect
5)Stay Connected Visit (link: http://bit.ly/2EhiqV2) bit.ly/2EhiqV2 or (link: http://www.bethe1to.com)bethe1to.com for more information on #SuicidePrevention.
If you’re in a crisis and need help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800.273.TALK https://mobile.twitter.com/800273TALK or text the https://mobile.twitter.com/CrisisTextLine (text “HOME” to 741741) – both resources are confidential, free, and available 24/7.