Mental illness affects people from all walks of life, and it is important to have awareness of the issue and how to handle it, whether for yourself or a loved one.
Tony Coder, CEO of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF), spoke with the Mount Vernon News about mental illness and his foundation’s work to help those in need.
Coder said that in Ohio, an average of five people die each day by suicide, making it the leading cause of death in the state for children ages 10-14 and the second-leading cause of death for people ages 10-24.
To put the crisis into perspective, Coder said he recently attended the funeral of a 22-year-old man who took his own life and he was sad to know that four other families in Ohio experienced the same tragedy that day.
A 2019 report by Mental Health America showed that in 2019 – just before COVID-19 hit – 19.86% of adults across the country experienced mental illness, which equates to about 50 million Americans. The problem has become more severe, Coder said, with a reported surge of 4.58% of adults saying they have had serious thoughts of suicide, an increase of 664,000 people from the previous year's data. In fact, the rate of what Coder calls “suicidal ideation” among adults has increased yearly since 2011-12.
“This was a larger increase than seen in last year’s report and is a concerning trend to see going into the COVID-19 pandemic,” Coder said.
In July, Congress passed a law converting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to an easier-to-remember number, 9-8-8.
“There are projections that this will add around 40,000 additional calls to the current 72,000 [annual] calls,” Coder said. “Much like 9-1-1, the 9-8-8 number will respond to a mental-health crisis anywhere in the country, and the hope is that people will be able to remember that number.”
When a person is having thoughts of suicide or a mental-health crisis – or has overdosed on drugs or something related – they can call this number. About 80% of the calls to the hotline will be handled over the phone, Coder said, but the operators also have the ability to contact local mobile crisis units, emergency medical technicians and law enforcement, depending on the situation.
The hotline is funded through local Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health boards, and less than $10,000 per year comes from the federal government. At this time, there is no state funding for the hotline in Ohio, but Coder said his foundation is working in partnership with the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services – along with other state partners – in an effort to discuss the need for funding with lawmakers.
Coder said the foundation works with communities, individuals and families to identify warning signs of suicide, and trains clinicians and citizens about prevention, treatment and after-care.
Coder said the foundation is grateful that the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services allocated some funds from the American Rescue Plan for costs, but these will only help them operate through the next 18 months. In response, he said, they are hoping to work on a long-term funding system with the Ohio legislature.
“Literally, these funds are life-and-death decisions and without this, we would expect a rise in suicides for those that cannot find help for their crisis,” Coder said.
Anyone who would like to donate to the foundation can do so at www.ohiospf.org. If someone is in crisis or needs to talk, they can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 9-8-8 or text "4hope" to 741741. The local crisis hotline for Licking and Knox counties is 800-544-1601.
