A WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Mental Health Champions,

I recently had the chance to follow up with our very first podcast guest who lost his son to suicide six years ago, and an observation that he shared resonated with me:

As a family, we have poured more into our relationships with one another and have even strengthened the manner in which we approach others outside of our family. To honor Tyler - we feel we must add value to each relationship, otherwise, what is the purpose?

Indeed, connections are what drive the human experience and help us thrive. We see that in the titles of some of our core trainings: Connections Matter and Community Resiliency Model and it definitely is the foundation of our Birth-5 programming, The Basis Cobb County. Connections are also at the heart of our suicide prevention awareness trainings – Question.Persuade.Refer, Mental Health First Aid, and Science of Suicide for First Responders. It is often difficult to know what to say to someone who is clearly struggling, and so we might choose to not say anything at all, for any number of reasons – fear of saying the wrong thing, guilt, fear of getting entangled in another person’s messy life, or feeling that we don’t have any answers ourselves.

But, please do not miss the opportunity to form a connection with another person, particularly one who you sense is struggling to maintain good mental health. A warm smile, stopping to ask them about their weekend, handing them a 988 card, letting them know that you’re looking forward to seeing them tomorrow, that you value their presence, complimenting something about their appearance or their work, – these small actions can create a larger buffer and help others feel that they are valuable and connected.

This issue of our Mind Your Mind quarterly magazine focuses on suicide because the rising rates over the past two years are alarming, and we must all get more comfortable with recognizing risk factors, building protective factors, and most importantly – making connections. Please consider what you can do to become a gatekeeper in our community; we and many others have training opportunities, digital and print resources, community events, and a caring community to help you and help each other. We look forward to partnering with you and making strong connections.

Warmly,

Irene Barton

IRENE BARTON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR