Community members hold signs for suicide prevention during the September 13 march.
By LACEY WHELAN
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — Idaho is among one of the states with the highest number of suicide rates. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Idahoan’s ages 15-34 and for males up to age 44.
The statistic is according to the Idaho Lives project on the Span Idaho suicide facts and statistics website. In Indian Country, Native people have the highest rates of all nationalities.
The Counseling and Family services department hosted a Suicide Prevention Moccasin March Thursday, September 13, which is part of the National Suicide Prevention week — a weeklong campaign in the United States to inform and engage the public about suicide prevention and educate about the warning signs of suicide.
The walk began with registration, a prayer by Larry Murillo, from the 477 Human Services Department. Krissy Broncho CFS Manager/Clinical Coordinator spoke about the statistics of suicides and encouraged anyone who needed someone to talk to, to reach out to Counseling and Family Services.
She said 186 people signed in and the youth in the community showed lots of support by marching and making their own Suicide Awareness/Prevention signs. “Great turn out for this type of event; we appreciate the support from the local schools and community members.”
Broncho said mental health needs to be visible in the community and outreach is the best way to get message of hope to our people. “Our next event was the Talent Show that was held this past Monday we had over 200 people show for that event as well. There was a special emphasis on Suicide Prevention with a Suicide Support Wall, Essay Contest on ‘Why I want to live,’ suicide booth and suicide banner on stage, an elder also did story telling and addressed suicide (that was really neat).”
Chief Tahgee Elementarty Academy students in the Moccasin March.
Participants were encouraged to wear moccasins, and also make their own posters for suicide prevention. Various local schools were present, as well as many local community members. Schools that attended were Sho-Ban Jr./Sr. High School, Chief Tahgee, and Lillian Vallely School. The students made signs and walked with their peers and teachers.
Fort Hall Reservation has seen its share of suicides with many wondering what more can be done to help prevent it.
Broncho encouraged people to get trained in warning signs, what to do, how to intervene as they offer ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and QPR (Question, Persuade and Refer) Training free to the community they just need to ask. We also just trained a staff in Mental Health First Aid so that will be another option for training here soon.
In addition, people should call the Crisis Intervention Team here in Fort Hall 208-238-4000 immediately, they should also reach out to that person and try and get to them to make sure they are safe until help arrives.
Broncho said for those who may have lost a loved one to suicide, CFS will do outreach to family members and will provide them with a Suicide Survivors Packet with information to help process the loss. They are more than welcome to attend family counseling here at CFS. We are also holding Grief Support Groups the first Tuesday of each month here at CFS from 5 to 7 p.m. – they are open to anyone.
There has been many concerns on addressing substance abuse, childhood trauma and other mental health issues, which can be factors leading up to suicide in young adults or adults. Some helpful resources can be reaching out to the crisis hotlines, which help millions of people every year. The hotlines have trained volunteers and counselors, which have many options to talk through via texting or a phone call.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of more than 150 local crisis centers. It offers free and confidential emotional support around the clock to those experiencing a suicidal crisis. The contact number is 1-800-273-8255 (the hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.)