SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH
Eight Jones County High School students breathed new life into a meeting of the Jones County Suicide Prevention Coalition last week, bringing not only their concerns about the mental health of their friends and classmates but also a plan of ways to help.
The Aug. 27 meeting of the coalition was led by Joy Carr, coordinator of Jones County Family Connection and the leader of the JCSPC.
The eight young women were the final speakers of the program.
They were introduced by their healthcare science teacher, Audie Newsome, and were accompanied by another teacher, Marilyce Orr, who is acting as an advisor for the group.
The students are on the mental health pathway of the college and career academy. They were not shy about their goal, which is to reach their peers with the message that they care and are ready to go to work to make a difference.
Alexa Williams was the first to speak. She talked about a teddy bear drive for children in the mental health unit in Macon.
“So every child that comes through can leave with something comforting. For younger children who may not understand what they are there for, it’s scary,” she said.
Williams said they also want to collect journals for the adults so they can keep up with their progress during treatment. She said the bears and journals would be accompanied with cards with encouraging messages.
Another idea by the group was sharing positive affirmations on mirrors in student bathrooms.
“We want to allow students to share their stories of how they’ve battled mental health to let others know they are not alone. Some students don’t want to talk to adults; they’d rather talk to their peers,” Miller said.
She said she thinks for students it is more about not wanting to get in trouble for doing something that is wrong.
“We want them to know they are not alone in this situation, and they are not going to get in trouble for talking about it,” Miller added.
She said they have also set up an Instagram page called Hope Team that is anonymous and allows students to reach out to talk about anything.
“We hope to make it big and want it to be good for Jones County.”
Destini Fuller said they understand more about their generation. She said they are not open with parents and older people.
Carr asked the speakers how the coalition could help.
Fuller reiterated that everyone was welcome.
“This is not just an us thing. All are welcome,” she said.
Williams said they planned to put out boxes for the teddy bears, and everyone can donate.
An audience member thanked the students for what they were doing. He explained that he is a suicide survivor but still struggles every day.
“I didn’t have support like this when I was growing up,” he said.
He said he has a son and tries to have conversations with him, but he knows his son would more likely listen to someone his age.
The speaker said he would like to start a community group with men who are struggling.
“This affects men more,” he said.
Johnson said the effort was a passion with her.
“I lost a friend this year to suicide. Seeing he didn’t get the help he needed makes me want to do something to make a difference,” she said.
Newsome said she would like for the group to have information about help that is available and distribute it at an upcoming event.
Orr said she is a first-year teacher at JCHS, and this was the most real group of young women.
“They are going to be liaisons with the young generation and teach us how to be better. It doesn’t have to have religious connotations. Hope is hope, and we need hope in our community and our world,” she said.
Miller said basically they would unite in the classroom and unite in the community.
“We’re going to be talking about how we have more inclusion, more diversity and just support each other with kindness. We would like to give out water bottles and fans with information about suicide prevention at sports activities,” she said.
JCHS Assistant Principal Christine Giles said she met with the students, and she is impressed and proud of the initiative taken by the young women. She said other efforts are planned schoolwide.
Orr added that there are also young men who want to be involved.
Carr said she shared all the 988 materials in her possession with the students and would be ordering more to keep them supplied.
Opioid epidemic
The meeting began with another component of the JCSPC group, a presentation by Marissa Cooling, who is an overdose surveillance and planning specialist with the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Cooling’s message was about the seriousness of the opioid epidemic in Georgia and Jones County. She said Jones County had a death by overdose the previous week, and it had eight in 2023, which was the thirdhighest number of overdose deaths in the 13-county district.
“The number of deaths by overdose in America is like a plane crash every day,” Cooling stated.
She said the number has been climbing since 2014. The specialist said overdose is the term used, but it is really poisonings.
“No one buying drugs on the street knows what they are buying. Seven out of 10 of the drugs are laced with fentanyl,” Cooling said.
She said since 2014 there has been a 900% increase in opioid use in adolescents, and seniors on pain killers are also at risk.
“They forget they have taken the medication and then take too much,” Cooling said.
The speaker said the opioid epidemic does not discriminate by age, race or economic status.
She said the battle of opioid epidemic deaths is being fought by making Narcan available, and her mission is to make the public aware that fatal opioid overdoses are preventable with the use of Narcan.
Cooling said Narcan has no side effects and went on to explain it was actually developed to be used for infants born to addicted mothers.
“It’s safe for anyone,” she said. Cooling said Narcan is being distributed at no cost by agencies, including the Jones County Health Department. She said it is easy to administer, and there is no risk to those who give it.
“Give the Narcan first, and then call 911,” she said.
Narcan is also available for over-the-counter purchase in local stores.
The specialist said the law for medical amnesty for the use of Narcan was passed in Georgia in 2014. She said the only stipulation is the caller and the victim must remain at the scene until medical assistance arrives.
“We are under no assumption we can make people use or not use drugs,” Cooling added.
Carr said the use of drugs is known as slow suicide. She did have some good news to share at the meeting. There were no deaths by suicide in Jones County for the months of June or July.
The next meeting of the Jones County Suicide Prevention Coalition is scheduled Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. in the Community Room at JCHS.
