Each Month, Castle Country Radio spotlights an organization within our community that works to improve the lives of residents of the Castle Country Area. This month, we spotlight the HOPE Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties. Amanda McIntosh, a suicide prevention specialist with the Southeast Utah Health Department and Head of the Hope Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties sat down with Castle Country Radio to talk all things HOPE.
Opening our conversation, McIntosh explained what the HOPE squad does,” The mission of the HOPE Squad is to educate, promote and spread awareness.” McIntosh continued,” Awareness for a healthier community with an emphasis on mental health, suicide prevention, support for suicide loss survivors and cultivating a stigma-free approach to seeking help. And then together with the partnership, support, and expertise of multiple agencies throughout the counties, the overall goal is to reduce the number of people who die by suicide.”
To aid in this noble crusade, the HOPE Squad hosts several events throughout the three counties aimed at opening the conversation and reducing the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health. “ We are gearing up for a couple of events that we host every year on world suicide prevention day, which is Sept. 10. We will be hosting our candlelight vigil where we meet in the Peace Gardens in Price around 7 p.m. And the stage is open for people to talk about their loved ones because I firmly believe that our loved ones are more than how we lost them,” explained McIntosh.
Another upcoming event for the HOPE Squad is their HOPE Walk on Saturday, Sept. 14 starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Price City Peace Gardens.” Registration is open, It’s free to register by going to AFSP.org/Price.” McIntosh explained,” To get an official 2024 walk shirt, you do have to fundraise $150. But even if you don’t fundraise, hey, we’re just happy to have you come and join us at the walk.”
One mission McIntosh has embarked on has been going around to city council meetings around the three counties and having the mayors proclaim Sept. as Suicide Prevention and Awareness month, something which McIntosh spoke on,” Suicide affects everybody, right? You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody that doesn’t know somebody who has attempted to end their lives or who has lost their life to suicide.” She continued,” And by bringing it to each city council and having them read the proclamation out loud, proclaiming September to be Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, it provides the community a resource to get the help that they need.”
McIntosh also spoke to us regarding the importance of suicide prevention and awareness in our area,” Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties are consistently leading the states in suicide deaths per capita, and that’s a concern.” stated McIntosh,” And so we try to provide training opportunities for our community so that they can learn some lifesaving skills. And we do that through a training called QPR, which stands for question, persuade, refer. It is an evidence-based suicide prevention training, where we will give you a general overview of some of the warning signs to look for in a loved one who might be having suicidal ideation.”
Castle Country Radio would like the thank the HOPE Squad for trying to improve our area through their hard work and dedication to the cause of suicide awareness and prevention. To contact the HOPE Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand counties, you can visit their Facebook page here. You can also reach out to McIntosh at the SEUHD by phone at 435-636-1153.
For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by dialing 988 any time for support. Resources are also available at utahsuicideprevention.org.