GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and Mesa County Public Health is highlighting prevention efforts and resources available in the community.
Jennifer Daniels, behavioral health division director for Mesa County Public Health, said the month is used to spread messages of hope and awareness.
“It’s a way to just bring hope messages but make people aware that suicide is something that we can and should talk about and then I feel like our nation, since we all do it together, just floods the internet and social media with hope messages, stories, resources, just kind of reminding people that they’re not alone,” Daniels said.
World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10, when people across the globe work on prevention efforts.
Daniels said continued community work is part of a larger healing process.
“Working in suicide prevention for as long as I have, I think that if our community knows that we are continuing to work hard and looking at all the different angles and looking at advocating for resources and getting people trained and warning signs and how can they support, it’s really part of community healing,” Daniels said.
2025 Mesa County suicide report
The 2025 Mesa County Suicide Report was recently released, highlighting prevention work and encouraging the community to take part in suicide prevention.
Daniels said the report found the suicide fatality rate for men remains about three times higher than for women. Youth and young adults represent more than one-third of all suicide-related visits to the emergency room, according to the report. The report also noted the county lost a behavioral health resource last year with the closure of West Springs Hospital.
Positive takeaways
Daniels said the report also included some positive findings.
“We saw a decrease in substance use at the time of death that had significantly decreased over the last couple years. And then we were encouraged by the progress that the school district reported on with the students reporting an increased sense of belonging,” Daniels said.
Available resources
Mesa County has a variety of resources available for those struggling with mental health.
Daniels said people can call or text 988 to access support. She said Mesa County Public Health also offers Find the Right Fit, a resource to help connect people with the behavioral health system. Grand Valley Connects and Health Solutions’ Connected Care are also available for resourcing, according to Daniels.
“I think the easiest and quickest one is using 988. You can access 988 but here at Public Health, we have Find the Right Fit. It’s a great place to just access the behavioral health system and kind of a good place to start, and then we also have Grand Valley Connects to find resourcing. Health Solutions has their connected care. So, it’s kind of a place to go in to get some immediate connection with somebody,” Daniels said.
Mesa County Public Health wants to remind people they are not alone and resources are always available.
The annual report and mental health resources from Mesa County can be found here.
