Music, comedy are allies in war on suicide

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The suicide prevention month activities at the Memphis VA Medical Center kicked off this week with gift bags, a fashion show and comedy.

A barbecue and music festival, 2K walk/run, women’s information fair and haircuts for veterans are scheduled as September unfolds.

Far from treating the subject of suicide lightly, the events are designed to help remove the stigma associated with suicide and behavioral health issues and spread awareness, suicide prevention advocates say.

“It’s to educate people that suicide is one of the most preventable causes of death,” said Scott Ridgway, Nashville-based executive director of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network.

“And that there are warning signs that you and I, whether we’re going to church together, whether we’re playing bridge together, whether we’re going to the VA, we ought to be able to recognize those warning signs,” Ridgway said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs issued a national study in August that found that in 2014, an average of 20 veterans died from suicide each day. Veterans were 8.5 percent of the nation’s population that year, but 18 percent of all deaths from suicide.

Shelby County generally leads the state in the annual number of suicides, Ridgway said. However, when dividing the number of suicides by the county’s population, Shelby County has a lower average rate of suicide deaths than the state or nation.

In 2014, Shelby County recorded 91 suicide deaths, of 945 statewide, according to the Health Department.

Based on 2010-14 data, 70 percent of the county’s suicide deaths were white and nearly 78 percent were male.

“If we look at the 900 Tennesseans that died by suicide, we continue to see that middle-aged Caucasian males are the ones that are dying by suicide in our state,” Ridgway said.

He praised the Memphis VA Medical Center’s suicide prevention coordinator, Renee Brown, for thinking outside the box to engage veterans and the public in suicide-prevention efforts.

The VA is highlighting a “be there” campaign, including #BeThere on Twitter, urging suicide prevention help for veterans and service members. Other efforts range from a VA crisis line — 800-2738255 — to using predictive analytics to identify VA

patients at risk of suicide.

While Sept. 10 is designated as World Suicide Prevention Day and that week is National Suicide Prevention Week, the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network for years has asked the governor to proclaim the month and has more than two dozen activities scheduled throughout the state, Ridgway said.

“Having these events breaks the stigma associated with mental health and suicide because people don’t want to talk about suicides, people don’t want to talk about mental health,” he said.

“But they can talk about PTSD, depression, behavioral health issues that are strong indicators of someone thinking about suicide,” he said.

The Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network provides information, including brochures that can be downloaded, about the warning signs on its website, tspn.org.