MANSFIELD — Joe Trolian was blunt regarding suicide prevention on Tuesday morning when he met with Richland County commissioners.
The answer is found in the community, not in the professional ranks, according to the executive director of Richland County Mental Health & Recovery Services.
“We are trying to get as much (educational) information out as possible. The bottom line is suicide prevention, it’s not done by the professionals. It’s really done by the community, knowing what to look for and being able to ask some pretty heavy questions,” Trolian said.
“We’re doing what we can to get our trainings out that train people on just being able to say, ‘Are you thinking about killing yourself?'” he said.
September is Recovery Month
Trolian and Sherry Branham, the agency’s associate director, attended the meeting to accept the commissioners’ proclamation designating September as Recovery Month.
The month is a national observance every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with a mental and/or substance use disorder to live a healthy and rewarding life, according to NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals.
While the local effort marks “Local Help for Local Recovery,” including a full calendar of community events, including the dedication of The Jericho Wall of Remembrance and Recovery on Aug. 31.
Trolian said suicide remains a prime concern.
“The year before last, we had 24, which was a new record. In 2022, we actually hit 31. We are on track in 2023, averaging around two per month, to again hit 24,” Trolian said.
“We are doing more educational presentations. We’ve bolstered services in the schools. We’re working with human resources (professionals) and really trying to figure any (prevention) angle,” he said.
One of the problems is the target audience continues to change, according to Trolian.
“Our age group this year was 18 to 21 and then it leaped to 75 and older. For the first few months, we weren’t seeing anything with the working class, which is the bulk of what we saw the year before. We are continuing to try to get as much (educational) information out as possible,” he said.
There is also no single identifiable cause for the rise in local suicides in the last few years.
“But what I am seeing, when I talk to people,” Trolian said, “… people are exhausted.
“We’ve had a few rough years, whether it was COVID lockdowns, people retiring early, (rise) in telehealth services. We really are losing human contact.
“The Surgeon General published a report that the new epidemic we’re dealing with is loneliness and isolation. So we’re doing what we can to make sure that the services we are providing is face-to-face.
‘We are social beings’
“We are social beings. It’s something everybody needs and it’s what has been lacking. If I have to look at something that’s not been there the last few years when we’ve seen this spike, that’s been it. People are not socializing like they used to,” Trolian said.
Anyone in need of assistance can call 419-522-HELP, according to Trolian.
“We’ve had a hotline in this county since 1984,” he said. “We’re encouraging people to use that hotline to get local help for local hope. That way we can continue to get them the help they need,” he said.
