Suicide Prevention Month Spotlight: Disability

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 08:24:04 -0400
anxiety, crisis, disability, health, illness, lgbtq, megan, mental, native, prevention, project, stallion, stay, stronghearts, suicide, thee, trevor, wellness

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and UMBC is helping to raise awareness and promote effective strategiesin the campus community and beyond.

Don't Ignore Suicide In The Disability Community - Learn About the Live On! Movement (abilities.com link)

Study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine about the Association of Disability with Suicide-Related Outcomes.

What can you do if you if you are worried about yourself or someone else:

Reach out - it's not a time to be silent, connect.

Listen - no one needs to feel like they are alone - we're in this together.

Get help - there is campus, local and national support

UMBC Resources include:

Retriever Integrated Health, which has Counseling Services and more for students

Reach Out Retrievers - Online Support for Mental Health, including Peer-to-Peer resources, Togetherall, WellTrack, and Kognito

Faculty and Staff can reach out to the USM Employee Assistance Program.

For all who are working with a mental health provider - check in and schedule an urgent appointment with that health professional.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available at any time by calling or texting 988 - different from 911 - to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Megan Thee Stallion whose line in "Anxiety" is "I just want to talk to someone who gets me" created a website of mental health resources beginning with the National Crisis Textline (Text HOME to 741741), Stronghearts Native Helpline, Therapy Resources for Black Women and Men, LGBTQ Psychotherapist of Color Directory and much more. - here's the link for dealing with those bad days.

The Trevor Project provides support for LGBTQ+ community

From all who are struggling, Please Stay.

We're glad you are here, peace to you.

A captioned performance of Please Stay by Jake Runestead is linked here.

On the response side, UMBC's Office of Health Promotion has programs and trainings, including Mental Health First Aid that boost the campus community's ability to respond effectively when someone is in crisis.

Post is accompanied by a photo of a large split-trunk tree, with half of the tree grasped and supported by a hand-and-forearm-shaped statue. Credit: Neil Thomas via unsplash.com.