As suicides increase across Boulder and Broomfield counties, a local mental health clinic is working to address the crisis with community education.
Mental Health Partners is hosting its fifth annual fundraiser for suicide prevention education, seeking to raise $50,000 this year.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the total number of suicides in Boulder County increased 10% between 2019 and 2020. As of May 2022, Boulder County Public Health reported a nearly 50% increase of children ages 10-17 experiencing suicidal ideation in emergency department visits in Boulder County since 2019.
“As the number of suicides in Boulder and Broomfield counties continues to increase, it's more important than ever to invest in community awareness and education,” said Cindy Cohagen, director of community relations and philanthropy at Mental Health Partners. “We can all help avoid these tragedies by being aware of the signs and symptoms when someone is contemplating suicide.”
The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that 115 people are impacted by a single suicide, with one in five reporting that the experience had a devesting impact or caused a major life disruption.
Recognizing the need for community suicide prevention education, Mental Health Partners launched an initiative in 2018 to train at least 4,098 community members to recognize the signs and symptoms of suicide ideation and understand how to connect people in crisis to lifesaving resources.
Cohagen said between 2006 and 2016, 683 people in Boulder and Broomfield counties died by suicide. It’s estimated that for every one death by suicide, six others are directly impacted. By multiplying 683 by six, the nonprofit decided to set the goal of educating at least 4,098 people with suicide prevention tools.
“We undertook a major effort to provide suicide prevention education to at least this many people, hoping that this information — this call to action — might help save lives,” Cohagen said.
Since the program began, more than 5,300 area residents have received training in suicide prevention techniques through Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), SafeTALK, Mental Health First Aid and ASIST classes taught by expert mental health care professionals and clinicians.
“As the region’s most comprehensive mental health organization, providing this training is part of our mission and commitment to healthy communities,” Cohagen said. “That’s why we started our suicide prevention initiative in 2018.”
The trainings are made possible through fundraising events like the MHP Community Challenge. Money raised goes to making these trainings available to all community members, regardless of their ability to pay.
Funds raised during the 2021 challenge helped MHP provide 35 suicide prevention courses at no cost to 630 community members, along with 25 free trainings to local nonprofits, instruct eight new suicide prevention trainers and equip clinicians to expand their Zero Suicide implementation to screen clients for suicide ideation and provide early intervention.
This year, funds will also be invested to expand trainings to youth and families in under-resourced communities, support other community suicide prevention events, offer postvention support groups and host a national expert to speak about how to make communities suicide safer.
The fundraising event is hosted in partnership with KeyBank. The Skyline Traverse Trail Challenge will be held on World Suicide Prevent Day, Sept. 10, and registration for the Bike Challenge and virtual Couch Challenge is now open. This year also features a new skateboard event.
