September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, but our collective commitment should go far beyond a single month of the year.
Our community’s resilience, grit and courage to speak up are central values I see championed throughout our community every day of the year.
This year, I believe we need to pay particular attention to our young people.
Indiana is facing a youth mental health crisis. Too many children and teenagers are struggling with depression, anxiety, isolation and thoughts of suicide. The latest data from the Indiana Department of Health paint a troubling picture: Nearly half of Indiana high school students reported experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness, and one in four seriously considered suicide.
These aren’t simply statistics. They represent young people in our schools, neighborhoods and families who may be struggling quietly and unsure where to turn.
Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death for middle- and high-school-aged Hoosiers. That reality demands our attention — not only during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, but throughout the year.
Young people today are navigating pressures that can feel relentless. Academic and social expectations, family challenges, economic uncertainty, loneliness and an always-connected digital world can compound the ordinary difficulties of growing up. For some young people, those pressures become overwhelming.
That is why youth mental health cannot be treated as an issue for families to manage alone. It is a community responsibility.
Parents, educators, coaches, health-care providers, employers and community leaders all have a role to play. We need to create environments where young people feel safe saying, “I’m struggling.” We need adults who are willing to listen without judgment, recognize warning signs and connect young people with help before they reach a crisis point.
And when a crisis does occur, people need to know where to turn. Indiana continues to strengthen its statewide crisis-response system through 988, connecting Hoosiers experiencing suicidal thoughts, mental health or substance-use crises with trained crisis specialists and, when necessary, additional community-based support.
There is reason for hope.
Mental health challenges are treatable, suicide is preventable, and connection matters. Sometimes the most important first step is also the simplest: noticing when someone is struggling and starting a conversation.
At Meridian, our work reminds us every day that asking for help is not weakness. Speaking up takes courage. Listening takes compassion. And building communities where people know they matter can save lives.
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to renew that commitment, especially to Indiana’s young people. They need to know they are seen, they are heard and that help is within reach.
That is a message worth carrying well beyond September.
Seth Warren is president and CEO of Meridian Health Services.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Op-ed: Suicide prevention deserves year-round attention
