Members of Intermountain Health's leadership team took time from a recent retreat to gather and assemble mental health kits. The kits are filled with personal messages of hope and resources that can help people struggling with mental issues.
Together, they assembled 350 boxes that were delivered to schools, students, and locations that can help youth and young adults.
Suicide prevention has been identified in all states that Intermountain serves as a top community health need and significant priority. Intermountain aims to prevent suicide partly by integrating mental health with community members’ physical healthcare, a news release said.
“Addressing the suicide rates in Intermountain’s areas is highly important to us,” said Lisa Nichols, vice-president of Intermountain Community Health. “We believe that bringing these messages of hope, combined with the resources can help vulnerable youth in a mental health crisis.”
“In Colorado, the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 is suicide,” added Scott Peek, front-range market president for Intermountain Health. “We want to provide tools and resources to help people who are struggling with mental health challenges.”
Before the leaders prepared the boxes, they heard from Chris and Martha Thomas from The Defensive Line, who introduced their group and the anchor boxes. The Defensive Line was founded by Solomon Thomas, a defensive lineman for the New York Jets, along with his parents, Chris and Martha Thomas, who have been spreading the message of suicide prevention after Solomon’s sister, Ella, died by suicide in 2018.
Solomon and his parents have dedicated their lives to sharing Ella’s story and working to end the epidemic of youth suicide, especially for young people of color, by transforming how we communicate and connect about mental health.
The Defensive Line and Intermountain are also announcing a new three-year partnership. The two organizations have been partnering with events since 2022 when Thomas was a member of the Las Vegas Raiders and grew recently with engagements at Utah State University. The partnership will bring more opportunities throughout all of the states that Intermountain Health serves. This will help get the vital suicide prevention message to schools, universities, Intermountain caregivers and more.
“The Defensive Line is eternally grateful for its multi-year partnership with Intermountain Health. In our joint focus on mental health and suicide prevention in key, marginalized communities, we strive to advance mental wellness by engaging diverse advocates, decision makers, community leaders and influencers to drive whole health for those who are marginalized as well as our communities of color,” said Chris Thomas, co-founder of The Defensive Line.
To learn more about the mental well-being efforts of Intermountain and for resources available, visit intermountainhealthcare.org/behavioralhealth. To learn more about The Defensive Line, visit thedefensiveline.org.
If anyone is in crisis, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, available 24/7, 365 days a year.
