May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As a volunteer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, please join us in advocating #MoreForMentalHealth.
Suicide has touched my life personally and professionally as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Portland for over a decade. During the summer after graduation from Beaverton High School in 1991, I felt extremely distraught and shaken to the core upon hearing the heartbreaking news that a classmate had died by suicide. Literally just last week, similar devastating news was shared about a classmate’s family member in Lake Oswego. These are tremendous losses that have profound, lasting impacts on many others and our communities.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and responds to crises of tens of thousands of callers daily. On July 16, those in distress and those that support them will be able to reach the Lifeline through a simple three-digit number: 988. We must act now to secure funding to equip call centers and community crisis response services throughout the country with the staff and resources to respond to everyone in crisis. Join us in urging our federal and state public officials to do #MoreForMentalHealth. Visit moreformentalhealth.org.
