By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
Editor’s note: 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.
Across the nation, September is recognized as Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. As such, Castle Country Radio has chosen to spotlight the HOPE Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand counties as its Charity of the Month.
Dedicated to creating a stigma-free approach to seeking help and to spreading awareness on mental health and suicide prevention and providing support for suicide loss survivors, the HOPE Squad has quickly become a community staple.
To discuss the organization and its many plans for Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, the KOAL newsroom was joined by Suicide Prevention Liaison for Four Corners Community Behavioral Health, Amanda McIntosh, to help shine a light on the HOPE Squad.
“There are so many great resources that are already available and already happening in Carbon, Emory, and Grand County that unfortunately people don’t quite know about until they’re in a mental health crisis,” stated McIntosh. “And so by being honored with being the Charity of the Month and being able to talk about the events that we have going on for September being Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, it’s helping break down those stigmas, and it creates a community where self-help-seeking behaviors are normalized.”
To continue to break down the stigma surrounding suicide awareness and mental health, McIntosh has been going to municipalities and county governments to have September proclaimed as Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. She explained the importance behind the declaration: “I’ve been trying to get cities and commissioners to proclaim September Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month for a number of years, and it’s expanding in that more cities are recognizing the importance of it, but it’s also been very hopeful that they’ve allowed me the opportunity to speak to the proclamation and why proclamations at the local level are so important.
She continued, “It goes back to that normalization of talking about our mental health and opening the door for educational opportunities and for resource sharing and for recognizing that there are entities within our three counties and at the state level and at the national level that we are accessing here in Carbon, Emery and Grand County such as the Live On Utah campaign, such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which is why we partner with them to bring some of these events to the area.”
One event hosted by the Hope Squad to honor the hallowed month is its annual World Suicide Prevention Day Vigil, which is set for Thursday, Sept. 10. “Everywhere across the world on Sept. 10, every year, people gather in whichever way they see fit in Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties. We’re doing candlelight vigils. It’s a chance for survivors in our community to come together and talk about how their loved one lived. So oftentimes we focus on how a person lost their life that it doesn’t leave room for and removes the awkwardness of talking about the person as they were here on Earth, right? And the impact that they made. And so by opening up this safe space for people to come out and talk about their loved one, it really helps in the healing journey of losing somebody in such a tragic way.”
Following the vigil on Saturday, Sept. 12, the charity presents the annual Southeast Utah Walk to Prevent Suicide.
“I love our walk,” said McIntosh. “It has grown over the years in a good way, right? Yes, we are inviting more members of the community who have lost somebody to suicide. Still, we’re also seeing it grow by way of investment and buy-in from the community, and that this really is happening here in our backyard and that it can really affect anybody and everybody when we least expect it.”
She continued, “To see the community partners come together and the donations that have come in both monetarily and in kind through services and goods or whatnot, it really touches this community of survivors and lets them know that one, they’re not alone. Two, that there are people that they can turn to. And three, recognizing survivors, you know, especially through our honor bead ceremony where no words have to be exchanged. It’s a visual representation of the loss that we have suffered and instant brotherhood, sisterhood, and kinship in creating a support system to navigate that healing journey.”
Those looking to register for the Southeast Utah Walk to Prevent Suicide can do so by clicking here.
Looking at the Hope Squad as a whole, McIntosh spoke to the growth the organization has seen throughout the years: “I feel like with my position and being so aligned with the state’s overall suicide prevention plan and working with the brilliant, intelligent individuals at the state level has really been an asset to our community because we’re no longer being left behind when it comes to swag, when it comes to means restriction, when it comes to educational materials and programming and trainings and whatnot. I think that has helped expand our suicide prevention efforts.”
She added, “And then again, being partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and having that national approach to suicide prevention has really benefited our community as well. And it has helped bring suicide prevention and mental health to light in areas that we can work with. New employee orientations, where we’re able to do onboarding for construction companies or the mines, or doing those annual trainings so that everybody kind of has a baseline of what warning signs to look for, how to safely question somebody’s suicidal intent, and persuade them to live. And then when and to whom to refer them to resources within our very own community so that they don’t have the burden and the barrier to care of going outside of our area to get help.”
Closing our conversation, McIntosh stated, “I love this job. I love the work that we do. I love meeting people. It’s like a family reunion. I’ve said that for many, many years. But this is a passion that really has sustained and continues to reignite on a daily basis. With every loss we have in the community, I feel it deeply. And it just plagues me to want to do more and more and more. And so I appreciate all the support that the Hope Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand County gets, and that our walk and our candlelight vigil get, because it really does matter. It matters to the survivors. It matters to the people who have lost somebody to suicide, the people that are currently in crisis or have survived a crisis moment. And it really just, it just matters. It’s a lovely time to come together, especially as school is starting back and kids are facing challenges in completely different ways as they move through the grades and whatnot. It’s just a way to put education and resources into the hands of people who could really use it.”
Castle Country Radio would like to thank the HOPE Squad for their tireless efforts to improve our area through their hard work and dedication to suicide awareness and prevention. To contact the HOPE Squad of Carbon, Emery, and Grand counties, visit their Facebook or Instagram page.