Give Life Another Chance:

Suicide Prevention Resources You Need to Know
This Tuesday, Lawrenceburg Mayor Blake Lay and I signed a proclamation recognizing September as Suicide Prevention Month, a time to learn more about warning signs, treatment options, and ways to help.
Within the hour, I received news that a young man who attended my church took his own life. The timing and its irony made it even more painful.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, please give life another chance. Call or text 988, night or day, to talk to someone who can help you see beyond this difficult moment. You will speak with a counselor immediately, who will connect you with resources for help.
The Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network offers free training and resources designed for individuals, businesses, churches, and community groups. The goal is to reduce the stigma of suicide so people with those thoughts will be more likely to seek help. If anyone close to you has committed suicide, you know family and friends also need understanding people to share their devastation with. Learn more at https://www.tspn.org/.
TSPN also works closely with Lawrence County Schools to raise awareness among students, faculty and staff. Increased attention on students’ mental health has led to positive changes that help those experiencing depression, anxiety, and more serious challenges. Most people in these situations do not resort to suicide, but have a lower quality of life. The school system’s goal is to help every student succeed, and good mental health is an important element of success.
The Lawrence County School System was an early recipient of the five-year Project AWARE grant (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) that offered many programs, including in-school based therapy. Therapists were employed by a company that contracted with the school system, and there was a lot of turnover. Students would become comfortable with one counselor, only to begin again with a new one.
When the AWARE grant ended, school officials chose to hire in-school counselors. The Director of Schools approached the Lawrence County Commission about increased funding dedicated to those positions, so students would always have access to them, and it was quickly approved.
There are five School-Based Therapists working for the school system and another funded through a Centerstone grant. Each therapist is assigned to serve particular schools so students see the same face every time.
Students can seek out counseling themselves or be referred by anyone who feels they could benefit. The school system website, https://www.lcss.us/, offers a menu item at the top of its home page, “Resources” that takes you to “School-Based Therapy Services” and a list of local schools. To refer a child, click on the name of their school and fill out the form that appears.
Lawrence County Schools reports that school-based therapy has made a big difference for students. The school system’s Coordinated School Health Department monitors a resource through the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network called “ESSENCE Alerts”. These alerts are generated when a county or region shows an increase in the number of individuals presenting to an emergency department for suicide-related behavior, including visits for suicide attempts, intentional self-harm, and/or suicidal thoughts and feelings. After contracted services ended and before the current program began, there was almost always an alert from Lawrence County’s five to 17-year-old category. Since in-house school-based therapy began, LCSS has noticed a decrease in the number of alerts in Lawrence County. When there is an alert, it usually falls during school breaks or in the summer.
Why are more youth experiencing anxiety and depression? Anxiety and depression have always been with us, but the negative power of social media cannot be denied. Parents can monitor their children’s activity, set boundaries, and limit the amount of time they spend on their phones, particularly at night. Talk to children about online risks like cyberbullying and privacy, and model good behavior for them, spending less time off your phone than on it.
Remember that your social media content is different from your child’s. These platforms analyze your preferences and show you more of what you like to keep you watching longer. It’s easy to test: try looking at something out of character for you, then see how often similar things show up in your feed. Your child can easily stumble onto something they shouldn’t see, then be shown it over and over again.