CADIZ — September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and Harrison County Health Administrator Garen Rhome appeared before commissioners Wednesday to announce his office is partnering with the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Belmont, Harrison and Monroe Counties, the Harrison County General Health District, the Harrison County Wellness Coalition and the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services to organize awareness efforts.

Patty Allen of the Mental Health and Recovery Board was also present and both accentuated the importance of the fairly new 988 crisis hotline, which offers 24/7 assistance to people in need. Rhome said suicide is not something that doesn’t impact Harrison County.

Providing some statistics, Rhome said 47 suicide deaths have been tabulated in the county from 2011 to 2021. Also, suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States and the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-14. And for people ages 10-34, suicide is the leading cause of death. Every 11 minutes in the U.S. there is a suicide as of 2020.

Rhome noted that the number of county suicides over 10 years equates to about five per year and wanted to take some time to acknowledge that fact.

“Suicide is something that does impact the Harrison County community,” Rhome told the board.

He said sometime in July, after several years in the making, the 988 suicide hotline came to fruition.

“So, what’s going to happen is starting now and for years to come, you’re going to hear that 988 is a crisis and suicide text and call hotline,” Rhome said, stressing that it is for mental health purposes.

Rhome said the public will have access to the 988 number seven days a week, all day “no matter what, no matter when.”

Allen said 988 calls are answered by an office in Columbus, where referrals are relayed back to local agencies to provide services and support to family members and anyone in need.

“The infrastructure has been building for at least two years now,” Rhome said in response to Commissioner Don Bethel’s concern over how people in Harrison County will receive the correct response after calling the hotline.

Allen said the intent is to maintain anonymity for all concerned, but a live person who is professionally trained will answer the phone and provide them with “local resources” to help them along with more connections. Basically, Allen said, the 988 crisis line is for talking with someone and if they need further assistance, that is where local resources would come into play.

“And one of the best things about this is the anonymity,” Rhome said. “You get to reach out, you can say, ‘You know what, I’m feeling a certain way, I’m thinking a certain way or I have concerns about my family member or my loved one. They’re saying certain things, do you have some advice, do you have some help?'”

Also on the agenda was Trina Woodland of Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association for a public hearing concerning a project for the Harrison County Home that’s been in the works for several years. Woodland said “split-level air conditioning units” were being sought by the county home and the project is to be administered by the Community Development Block Grant.

According to a program policy as stated by Woodland, “residents of the Harrison County Home qualify under the Limited Clientele designation.” This means the elderly residents are principally low- to moderate-income individuals and meet the “national objective.”

Woodland said the cost would be approximately $48,000 and that OMEGA would be assisting the county in applying for a Target of Opportunity Grant, which is administered through CDBG. Two public hearings are required with this being the first. She said more specifics would be discussed at the second public hearing, which has not been set as of yet.

Commissioners Paul Coffland and Don Bethel approved Resolution 38-22, and Coffland said the number of air conditioning units totaled three.