Miami Valley is normalize mental health conversations to prevent suicides' & self-harming

DAYTON, OH (WKEF) -- September is National Suicide Prevention Month; suicide are rank the 12th leading cause of death in the nation. Local experts highlight the challenges people face daily and encourage people to start asking those tough questions.

Families across the country and the Miami Valley are impacted daily by suicide. On Average, According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention there are 130 suicides every day.

Megan Cales, Crisis Lead at Samaritan Behavior Health, explains the best way to save lives is by discussing mental health.

“To be really direction, like it's kind of a myth that if you talk about suicide to someone that it would plant the idea in their head; that’s not really true at all,” said Cales.

According to National Alliance on Mental Health, 79% of people who die by suicide are males.

“When we’re in those conversations, it does get pretty uncomfortable so it's easy for the concern person to sort of want to shut it down or back out and not hear what the person saying,” said Cales.

The second leading cause of death for kids ages 10 to 14 is suicide. Tristyn Ball, Director of Prevention and Early Intervention from Montgomery County ADAMHS explains education is key in prevention.

“To teach young people about what to look for in their peer group if their friends are intentionally thinking about suicide, what warning sides to look exist,” said Ball.

According to Ball, the Miami Valley has services for people struggling with mental health.

“If an individually is thinking about suicide or is having any kind of mental health concern call 988,” said Ball.

Individuals seeking assistance can download the "Local Help Now" app; it is available in your app store. This application informs those suffering with mental health and provides several local options at their fingertips.

The suicide and crisis lifeline's number is 9-8-8. It is available in both English and Spanish around-the-clock. According to data, there were an expected 1.2 million adult suicide attempts.