>> Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. for all ages and while thousands of people die by suicide each year, millions think about it.

According to the CDC, in 2017 more than 10 million American adults seriously thought about suicide.

>> Three million made a plan.

More than one million attempted it.

>> Often suicide is caused by depression that's compounded by life circumstances including the stress of the covid-19 pandemic.

>> And yet amid these conditions there is hope.

A Harris poll last year found 93 percent of Americans believe indications for suicide can be detected ahead of time and that something can be done to try to help.

>> And that's encouraging news to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention whose state leadership joins us for this week's prime time.

>> Good evening.

I'm Bruce Haines.

With us today is Kelsey Stoor.

>> She is Indiana area director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and we welcome your comments and questions to our conversation to just call the number that you see on the screen as we use the magic of technology.

And from Indianapolis, welcome Kelsey Stewart to the program.

>> Kelsey, thank you for joining us.

I appreciate that.

Good evening.

Thank you so much for having me in the data hearing about something that almost boils down to a factor of three that for the million who attempt it three million make a plan and that more than 10 million still consider thoughts of suicide.

>> What comes to your mind when you hear numbers like that?

So I mean what comes to mind first is that there are a lot of people who who need help and that in order to address that need we really need to create an entire system that can sustain and help not only the people that are struggling but also support the families that are caring for these individuals that are struggling as well.

>> What leads to suicide?

So researchers will tell you that there it's a combination of things that lead to suicide.

So what we might often see when you hear of someone dying by suicide either in the media or someone that we're close to is a singular event.

But what we know is that there's historical factors, environmental factors and also genetic factors that play into someone thinking about suicide and then potentially dying by suicide as well.

>> And so the work of obviously the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a national cause state specific to what is it that you find fills your organization's daily To-Do list then in looking at those causes of suicide and I assume how to mitigate them.

Yeah.

So at the larger level FSP started in nineteen eighty three as a research organization and so everything that we do is founded in research and is evidence based and over the last several decades from that has stemmed education programs, workshops, resources for the greater community schools and all sorts things as well as advocacy and then also support for suicide survivors and those with experience.

So for those individuals impacted by suicide, if they are a suicide survivor so that's what we call someone who has had a loved one or a friend or a family member die by suicide, we have resources directly for them where we can connect them through a program that we call Healing Conversations where we have trained volunteers who are also suicide survivors a little bit further along in their grief journey or can connect with them and help them get connected with resources at the advocacy level.

We have local advocates here working on legislation and policies to make sure that our communities are smart about mental health as well with our state senators at the federal level as well to make sure that the legislation that's rolling out Countrywide is is also helping that way.

So we have lots of volunteers across the entire state working simultaneously and asynchronously on all sorts of different projects that help make the Indiana chapter an award winning chapter for F.S.B and that chapter breaks down to teams by by communities.

I know the Fort Wayne area seems to have a community and I assume Indianapolis of course and Evansville in the light.

>> Correct.

So we're a statewide chapter all united.

We do have what you're talking about is our out of the darkness event so there is a way out of the darkness walk and so we have quite an amazing crew of people in Allen County and the surrounding counties that feed that community as well that support that walk in and all of the programatic and resources that have been around there as well.

We're seeing some images from recent out of the darkness walks and perhaps covid will allow all to walk again this year.

That is the hope.

Yes.

So we are hoping to have the walk in person at Headwaters Park.

It'll Sunday September twenty six this year and we have registration starting at 12:00 p.m.

Anyone is welcome.

As you can see it's family friendly and anyone can register for free.

You can visit our chapter website Spig back Indiana for more walks and things like that and then on that you'll find the Fort Wayne one where you can go to export back to Fort Wayne to register and learn more about the Fort Wayne walk.

I know it's called Out of the Darkness.

Why so it originated with Out of the darkness was me thinking not only of the individual that is struggling themselves but also the families that support them as well.

It can envelop and entangle the entire family into that darkness and so what we really want is it to be a hope filled event and so that's how it got me out of the darkness.

>> Well, I know one of the tenets of the foundation is that talk saves lives.

>> These are tough talks to have.

Walk us through how one has a conversation with a person with think believe is needing that extra level of care beyond hi.

>> How are you doing?

Not really expecting the honest answer.

Yeah.

So I will say we offer trainings for this for people who would like to be certified .

What's important to note here and it's a common myth that we're working to dispel one that my family believed for quite some time is that if we talk about suicide we're giving we can give someone the idea to die by suicide and we know from research that that isn't true.

That goes back to the additional environmental, historical and familial things that can cause someone to either think about suicide or suicide so we can't give someone the idea to die by suicide.

And so it's important to know that talking about suicide can and will save lives, making sure that we're having honest conversations, making sure that we're checking in and making and assuming that we're the only ones that will reach out oftentimes when we interact with people who have lost someone by suicide or who are worried about someone, they always say well I'm just a sister and just the neighbor and just their teacher and just their mom.

I'm just the dad the brother what can I do to help them?

And it's in those relationships that have so much power and connection for that person to lean in reach out to that person they're worried about and build that trust so that they can tell them how they're feeling and be the gatekeeper to getting them additional help whether that be with a counselor or a therapist.

The hospital, whatever that might look like for that individual and their time of need.

>> And in fact you have shared with us and let's let's take a moment to share with viewers a graphic some information about where some of those resources can be found at the national level.

Of course one of the big ones is the suicide prevention hotline.

That information's there.

There's a texting service 911 one of course is available and through your colleague in Fort Wayne we have some local resources here as well and the support networks within all these communities talk about how vital it is that we can know where these agencies are.

>> So that in case of additional care or additional confusion with someone who feels like they need that extra support, we can find it absolutely wanting to know too about the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, that one 800 number in the crisis text line that I can be the individual in distress reaching out or it could also be to helper in reaching out to either of those numbers and they can there's a counselor on the other end that can guide you and walk you through that.

So I used both of those several times when I'm not wasn't here exactly what to do in a certain situation and someone was able to help them.

So that's something to note too and it's always good to know what resources you have around you prior to there being a crisis or or need just so that we know what resources we have at our fingertips oftentimes when we're either in the hyper mode of helping or the ones in distress remembering or thinking about, you know, what resources we have is is is difficult and in those conversations listening taking that response seriously often are we perhaps too dismissive of some of these concerns and saying oh, he talked or she talked about killing themselves but you know, that was just a figurative thing.

I mean I think each situation is unique and different.

I think for so many of us when we hear a loved one or someone that we care about talk about that it's almost as if we you know, it's hard to know or hear that someone that you love feels that way and so normalizing these conversations is essential so that we can set our feelings aside and help that person that's in distress.

One really great resource that we have it's called our real conversation Guide.

So if you go to an MSB dot org backslash real convo, there's four different guides.

So this one is how to have a conversation about mental health and it's a little guide that's helpful.

There's also one on what to do if someone tells you that they're thinking about suicide .

There's also one around how to talk to suicide survivors as well.

Not that these are in replacement of any trainings or anything, but it's a really nice little checklist to to make sure when you're looking through to see you know, I did everything that I could to help this person or next time I'm going to adjust and tweak how I phrase or do this.

>> Yeah, because to it should be acknowledged we're not just looking at what a person says but how a person's acting, how what's what goes unsaid.

>> Speak a little bit about those those behavior or or mood characteristics that are in those warning signs.

>> Yeah so so and you don't want to sound like a broken record but it's unique to each person and that's why it's important for us all similarly to how we can do CPR, Heimlich is to get trained into recognizing the warning signs because while some of them are seemingly universal warning signs or what we think might be universal, they're unique to the individual.

So I would recognize signs in my P.A.

or my brother or my best friends quicker than you would and similarly you would recognize signs in people that you're closer with more quickly than I would.

>> And so making sure that we are attuned to this and and calling those out.

So whatever we're noticing different so closely I notice that you're we were late to work and you're always on time.

I notice that you haven't been contributing in to meetings like you normally do and I've also noticed something else.

So what that does for the individual is tell them that you've been noticing things about them and that you care and then it also just reinforces the conversation to so that you can get back on and stay on track to where you can say well let's go back to why are these things happening then depending on how they respond.

>> Yeah, I know in addition to some of these warning signs and you had mentioned a moment ago risk factors that can indeed be the state of a person's mental health condition or things within the environment.

Let me start with that area, for example, because I'm wondering what you've seen.

Perhaps there is no data or perhaps there is some early data but has something like covid-19 had a more dramatic impact on the tracking of individuals who are becoming more concerned and thinking about doing something about it ?

Yeah, I think so.

We don't have any data to say one way or another on how covid-19 is impacted directly and we're still waiting for those numbers to be able to have a statement around that.

I will say that similarly to what Dr. Jill shared, humans are more resilient than we realize and there absolutely are people in distress and struggling but there are also people who are are doing OK and so making sure that when we talk about somebody we're worried about someone it doesn't necessarily have to be about suicide but making sure that we're asking directly about suicide, it might be that they're not thinking about suicide but they'll know if you ask that you are a person that they can go to if they are ever feeling that way or if someone ever comes to them that they can come to you and share that with you so that you can help them as well.

>> Right.

I recall her her saying to that when we take into consideration other stressful events like the Great Recession of 2008, about five million people lose their jobs but the suicide rate did not skyrocket, which is interesting because I guess just when you think life and other related issues correlate not so much in most cases then one of the things we want to be sure we share is the contact information for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Let's share that website so that you can make note of it for the guides that Kelsey was speaking of here.

So far.

>> And if you put a slash next to that dog forward slash Fort Wayne that will take you to the Fort Wayne site and then the other aspects of the foundation services can be made available as a tick off point to FSP dog is the way to go.

>> Kelsey, let me let me ask you can suicide be prevented?

>> Suicide can be prevented.

I will say as a suicide loss survivor it that's a hard question and I try to answer that very sensitively because there have been so many have lost loved ones to suicide and so when we hear it could be prevented, you you can tend to go into all the things you should have could have would have done with the knowledge that you have now versus then.

But suicide can be prevented through making making sure that we're equipping people with the resources that they need, making sure we're having honest conversations about mental making sure we're taking these conversations seriously.

Someone is talking about suicide, getting the help that they need and being persistent is important for for helping to reduce the suicide rate, making sure we're getting training so that we can recognize these signs as critical as well.

>> So and of course as the field is being studied, there's a tremendous amount of research .

There's a tremendous amount of finding an application to go into those trainings that the foundation offers.

I understand that AFP has prepared a short piece to take us through some of the findings from research related to suicide prevention.

>> Let's take a look at that now.

When I was a child I always felt as if I was different in high school I did come out of my shell a bit but with that came the partying and the alcohol struggle episodes of mania depression going off to college was not the right thing.

I went to a party one night and I just remember feeling there's no point in going further in living anymore and that night I decided that I was going to take my life .

When I got the impulse I acted on when I got home I told no one I picked up some jobs and I got a job in a bank.

I did meet my wife and we had a couple of boys.

The self-esteem started to rise and the confidence started to go up and we had a life together as I moved forward and got older and my children got older, these episodes started to intensify again and they were getting worse.

The depressions were lower, the mania was higher and that brought on the alcohol and the drug use.

That's when I was first diagnosis that I was living with bipolar disorder.

My brain wasn't thinking straight, wasn't thinking correctly.

It was like there was a voice telling me my life and all of it was bad.

None of it mattered and it was lying to me but I believed whatever it told and so I planned my attempt.

I thought the plan I had was foolproof and would work.

It did when I was in the hospital receiving treatment I woke up and looked at myself pretty hard and said It's enough, I can't do this to yourself.

You can't live anymore.

>> That was the moment I realized that I needed to start on a path to recovery .

I had to stop drinking and I had to stop taking drugs another key thing for me was embracing professional help as far as tools I was given.

It started with running from running.

>> I found yoga.

>> I met a group of people that embraced me and would support me and I in turn supported them.

>> I think recovery is complex and there is no one answer for everyone find what works for you.

Recovery is attainable and recovery happens and I'm living proof .

>> We're talking with Kelsey Stoor who is the Indiana area director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Optimism and it must be encouraging to to have heard that Harris poll point about 93 percent of Americans believing too that there is something that can be done to intervene in a in a positive way.

Absolutely.

I think we all play a role in helping make our your community smart about mental health and helping one another so I absolutely think no matter your age you can you can help.

We've got some awesome walkers kiddos that help stuff resource bags all the way up to my eighty four year old grandma helps as well.

So any age any background can play a vital role and as we're looking not only to September for the out of the darkness walk but also into the years to follow twenty twenty one there is project twenty twenty five.

>> Tell me a little bit about that.

Yeah so project twenty twenty five is ancestor initiative to reduce the suicide rate twenty percent by the year twenty twenty five there's four pillars that go with that there's firearms where we're looking to provide trainings for firearm owners around mental health and making sure they understand the importance of securing their firearms when when someone's in distress.

There's also the health care systems where we're working closely with physicians to make sure that they have access to our resources and then also the emergency departments and then the final one is the corrections system and that to take suicide rate to its lowest level in thirty years is indeed commendable and that's why people walk and that's why people support you can find information about the out of the darkness walk again A.F.

Espie Dog let's put that contact information up there and then forward Fort Wayne .

>> We'll take you for the walk information and let's share the local resources one more time too.

If you are finding yourself in the position to intervene in a positive way, these are places not very far that are ready to assist you in that very important work.

>> Kelsey Sewer is is the Indiana area director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and it's been a pleasure, Kelsey, to have you with us.

>> Best of luck with with all that is ahead and continued success in your efforts.

>> Thank you so very much.

>> Thank you for joining us as well.

I'm Bruce Haines for everyone at prime time we continue to share what's happening in our region and we'll see you again next week same time and channel have a good night