Baltimore County, MD Hello Baltimore County, 4 Sep 2018

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From YouTube: Suicide Can Often Be Prevented

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Find out about the resources available through the Baltimore County Crisis Response System.

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Welcome to hello, baltimore county., I'm your host, ellen kobler. suicide is a leading cause of death in the united states.

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And the rates have been increasing steadily over the past two decades. we're joined by tammy commerce,, who coordinates baltimore county's crisis response efforts..

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Thank you so much for being with us today., thanks for having me. what a terrible situation to have to talk. About.

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What would you say is the prevalence of suicide in maryland?.

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Well, in the state of maryland, we're lower than the national rates., the national rate of suicide is about 13.4 per 100,000 people.

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In the state of maryland,, it's 9.35 per 100,000 people.

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There's about 45,000 suicides in united states in 2016.

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The state of maryland had 586.

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[ellen] per year during the year of 2016. in 2016.

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Wow,, that's a lot., you know,! If there were it is.

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That many deaths from something else,.

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People would be up in arms,, I'm sure. yes. yeah,, who tends to be at risk for suicide?.

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Well, there's a few groups that I'd like to highlight..

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One of the groups is males. they're, 3 1/2 times more likely than females to actually complete suicide..

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Another group is teens.. They deal with a lot of social and peer difficulties,.

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Including forming their own identity and also fitting into peer relationships and groups.

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At that time. yeah,, it's one of the most volatile times,. I think, of people's lives.

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It is, just with the developmental stage, yes.

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sure. it is.. Another group I wanted to highlight is seniors.

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they're, one of the most highest risk groups,, especially over the age of 85 years old, for males.

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Really? yes, and they deal with some losses in their life,. Maybe loss of mobility, loss of independence, loss of loved ones.

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So that is a contributing factor, as well.

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So it sounds like it ties into a sense of hopelessness.

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Yes, hopelessness is one of main risk factors for suicide. That's been shown in research., some other risk factors are lack of a support system.

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The other thing is substance, abuse is highly correlated with suicide,.

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And also some social stressors, such as lack of housing,.

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Losing a relationship, financial stressors.

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You don't necessarily have to have a mental illness or a mental health diagnosis in order to be at risk for suicide.

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about 54% of people that complete suicide.

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Do not have a formal mental health diagnosis., so it's really about half and half.

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Yeah. interesting. in terms of if you're concerned, about a loved one,.

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What are some of the warning signs that someone may be at risk of suicide??

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Some of the most obvious warning signs.

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Are people making suicidal statements,, suicidal threats, or suicidal gestures or attempts.

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And every single one of those should be taken seriously and referred to a mental health professional in order to get the individual assessed and some help. If that's needed.

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So somebody outright comes, comes right out and says: I'm thinking about killing myself, or I ought to just kill myself. what sorts of,! How do people verbalize it?.

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In many different ways., some people say things like: I don't want to wake up tomorrow, and it's not as direct,, and it goes all the way to an active statement of I want to die or I'm going to kill myself.

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At a specific time, frame.

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Wow,, I don't see any reason to live, yeah.

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Yeah, yeah. goodness.

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So how can you help someone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts?.

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The best thing to do is really have open communication with the individual..

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Listen is very important, in a non-judgmental manner,.

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In order to decrease the stigma of suicide.

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We want to allow people to talk openly about it.

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And to feel comfortable with that open communication.

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It's very important to get as much information as possible so that you can get the appropriate help for the individual..

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If it's a immediate situation,, we do recommend you call 911..

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If somebody has a weapon, or somebody has already done something to harm themselves, or it's an immediate risk,. That's the appropriate action.

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Can also call a local suicide hotline to refer them,.

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And that agency will reach out to the individual.

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Okay, and we'll put the baltimore county hotline up on the screen, and baltimore county police department,.

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If you call 911,, they do have resources to assist.

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In situations where there's a mental health, crisis, right?.

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Absolutely, what they can do is they can dispatch our mobile crisis team,, which is a partnership.

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With the baltimore county police department., an officer and a licensed mental health clinician will come to the community setting.. It could be a home or any other setting.

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In order to assess the individual, that's having the suicidal thoughts., we determine the best level of care,.

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We try to divert the individual from going to the hospital,, but if it's necessary for safety,, we can take the individual to a hospitalization.

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Or give them follow-up and wrap-around services to ensure safety in the community.

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What are some of the those services that are available in baltimore county?.

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In baltimore county, we do have a 24-hour crisis. Hotline.

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The services are all provided by affiliated sante group,.

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And they're, funded and administered by the baltimore county health department,, the bureau of behavioral health., and anybody can call the hotline in order to get help at any time of the day.. A counselor answers the phone 24 hours,, seven days, a week, 365 days, a year.

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We also have an urgent care center,, where people can come in to meet with a therapist for a one-time, diagnostic assessment, and possibly get started on a medication regimen with our psychiatrist to help them with symptom relief.

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And ensure safety in that way.

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we do also have an in-home team that provides crisis intervention, and they provide brief therapeutic support.

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And linkage to services, as that's one of the agency's goals, is to get people that long-term treatment to help them maintain their safety over time.

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So if someone calls the hotline, either for themselves.

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Or for a loved one,, what can they expect from that call?.

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What the counselor will do is they will talk to the caller,, get as much information as possible..

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They will also want to talk to the individual.

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That's having the crisis. If possible, in order to assess that person and then determine the appropriate course of action., we will triage the call to either our mobile crisis team,.

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Our urgent care center,, our in-home team, as I mentioned,.

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Or we can give outside referrals and information to get that person a community linkage.

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Okay,, so just to kind of recap in the last minute, or so that we have left,.

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If you are concerned about a friend,, a loved one,.

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A neighbor, who you feel may be at risk of suicide,.

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What should you do?.

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Well,, one important step to know is that you can call our crisis hotline, and that is 410-931-2214.

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That is available all day and all night,.

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So please call any time.

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also,. It's really important to talk to that individual and try to engage them in a conversation about how they're feeling, so that we can kind of get that process started to get them. Help.

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So don't feel like you're prying,. Don't worry about whether there's a politeness.

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really kind of get in there and engage if you can?.

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Absolutely,, their safety is very important.

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And being intrusive is kind of not as important to worry about in that situation,, so we do want to get information and just open up that communication with the person.

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Okay, and then just quickly, some of the signs to look for.

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Absolutely,, what you want to look for is any changes in personality..

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Somebody might be more agitated,, more anxious,, more depressed..

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Sometimes people withdraw from social interactions..

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Maybe they increase their substance, use., so really,. Any change in the individual is really important to note, and the loved ones know best about that.

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Okay, well,, thank you so much for getting so in depth with us about this important topic., oh, you're welcome, thank you. sure,, and thank you for watching hello, baltimore county.

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Remember to connect with baltimore county government on all of our social media, platforms.

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(lively, instrumental music).