CINCINNATI — Lowering Ohio's increasing suicide rate is the goal of a new two-year plan from a coalition of mental health and suicide prevention associations endorsed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Five Ohioans die daily from suicide, according to the CDC. DeWine has pledged to work under the new Suicide Prevention Plan for Ohio to bring that number down.
“The heartbreak of losing a family member to suicide is a pain that cuts deep, leaving behind a void that words can't fully capture,“ DeWine said in a statement. “This plan will bring about a system-wide commitment to reduce suicides and encourage communities to work collectively to foster understanding and destigmatize mental health challenges.”
Tony Coder, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Foundation, said the development of the plan was designed to make the solution to suicide as complex and comprehensive as the factors that lead to it.
"There's no silver bullet or anything else for suicide prevention," Coder said.
The plan breaks suicide prevention into four strategic priorities including the development of community systems, increased access to prevention and early intervention, more quality treatment and post-intervention and the use of data to evaluate and adjust plans based on outcomes.
The development of community systems, or a web of services, would help programs like Mental Health America in Blue Ash.
MHA Community Outreach Coordinator Rich Palmer says state grants already help pay for services in the center like Mental Health First Aid classes.
"There is a great value to the number of minds that have been involved in that process," Palmer said.
Palmer said the key to moving forward would be collaborating under the state's unified plan with a unified message that it's OK to not be OK.
"When we say it out loud, we reach out," he said. "When we say it out loud, we help another person who may be struggling because they know it's not taboo."
Coder said he hoped the 2024-2026 plan saves lives, adding that the collection of data would lead the way.
"If we're just throwing stuff at a wall, we're never going to solve the problem," he said. "You have to have data to drive it."
Both groups said people can't access services if they haven't heard about it, and stressed that everyone should know about the 988 suicide and mental health crisis helpline.
For more information or resources on mental health, click here.
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