PUBLIC HEALTH
The number of suicides in Jones County had been on the decline, but August was a tough month.
Those statistics were part of the information shared at the Sept. 27 Jones County Suicide Prevention Coalition meeting. The coalition was formed in 2019 and has been meeting regularly, going virtual during the pandemic.
This month’s meeting was led by Project Director Brandon Warrick, and the meeting was held in the Community Room at Jones County High School. He began with the statistics that the previous months of May, June and July all had zeros.
August had three suicides. The victims were all white males ages 17, 63 and 47. The statistics were furnished by the Jones County Coroner’s office.
The question was asked if the escalation in August was unusual, and Warrick said spikes in the number of suicides were typically seen around the holidays.
The overall statistics show 89 percent of suicide victims are white and 78 percent are male. Firearms are the most common means of suicide with prescription drugs next.
The high rate of suicides in Jones County was the reason for the creation of the coalition, which is in partnership with Augusta University. Jones County’s suicide rate was 10th in the state in 2018.
The Jones County coalition was formed in July of 2019 and is funded through a grant from The Partners In Prevention Project by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
The awareness of the number of suicides and the help that is available is a focus of the coalition. Warrick talked about the marketing campaigns that include shopping cart advertising at Ingles Markets that have the capability of reaching over 17,000 people each week.
The coalition has also placed tabletop ads on 25 tables at Chevy’s Pizza that will be there for the next three years. He said media specialists at the middle schools were posting ads on screens in the school buildings, and rugs with positive messages were being placed in the schools.
“The messages are ‘there is hope and there is help,’” Warrick said.
The coalition also posts positive messages on its Facebook and Instagram pages.
The director said 988 rolled out in July for mental health emergencies, and the number of calls has picked up. In a conversation following the meeting, Warrick said Georgia was ahead of the game with 988 because its crisis line was already in operation.
He said 400 QPR Gatekeepers had been trained this year, and over 800 have been trained in the past three years. The Question, Persuade, Refer training teaches how to help someone in a mental health crisis.
Warrick said QPR Train the Trainer classes would be held in February at the request of Jones County Emergency Services.
He said a presentation was made to Leaders in the Village Sept. 12, and the biggest takeaway from the group was the availability of resources.
Warrick said the coalition was invited to participate in the Oct. 22 Trunk or Treat event in Gray and at the Purpling-Out Jones County High School Football game Oct. 28.
Giulianna Larosa talked about Partners in Prevention activities at the schools and upcoming programs. She said Catch My Breath programs would be taking place at Clifton Ridge Middle School and Jones County High School. Those programs focus on the dangers of vaping.
Larosa said they would also like to schedule positive social norm surveys at the middle schools and work with all schools for Red Ribbon Week. The purpose of Red Ribbon Week is to inspire students to be happy and drug free.
The next meeting of the coalition is scheduled Oct. 25 with the location to be announced.
