During National Suicide Prevention Month one community leader believes that everyone should play a role in preventing suicides.

Suicide Prevention Outreach and Education Specialist with the Department of Veterans Affairs and facilitator for the Greene County Suicide Prevention Coalition Lori Reynolds says they’re message is to normalize that it’s okay to not be okay and let’s do something about it. Reynolds points out one of the quickest ways to access help for individuals thinking about suicide is to call the National Crisis Line, which changed to 988 since past July.

“And there are people waiting there to take your call to help you with whatever it is you have going on. You do not have to be suicidal to call that number, you can just be having a bad day and then someone can help you to get connected with the resources that you need. Ninety-percent of those calls are answered in state. And so the person that you’re talking to is very likely in the state of Iowa.”   

Reynolds explains that overall the number of suicides had been trending downward since 2018, but this year is a bit different.

“What we’re seeing for 2022 unfortunately is those numbers coming back up. The pandemic was hard, it was very isolating for people, the coping mechanisms that folks had gotten used to using prior to the pandemic they weren’t able to (use), people lost their jobs, things cost more money, legal trouble. Just all of those risk factors that we see all of the time for folks that are considering suicide but are enhanced when we are coming off of a pandemic like we are.”   

Locally, Reynolds notes there is the Greene County Suicide Prevention Coalition, which has been in existence for three years. She says this group is a great cross-section of individuals, including those with the schools, mental health therapists, first responders, clergy, and those who lived experiences. To learn more about the coalition or other resources contact Reynolds at 515-214-4593 or email at Lori.Reynolds@va.gov