Raising Awareness for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Post Published On:September is Suicide Awareness Month and Thomas University is planning several activities to bring awareness through a series of events this month.
Dr. Steve DePaola, Associate Professor of Psychology at Thomas University, will be hosting an event called “Suicide Awareness” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 21st at the Flowers Auditorium on Forbes Campus. It is open to the public and offered free of charge.
He, along with Professor Robin DePaola of Thomas University and Ann Marie Curry, who lost her 15-year-old son, Reed, to suicide in 2020, will be speakers at the event.
Dr. DePaola will be talking about the nature of suicide—risk factors, college students, and the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior.
Curry will conclude the event by sharing her experience with suicide. She is a board member of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It is a voluntary health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education, and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death.
Ann Marie Curry
She also started the foundation “Love Like Reed” in hopes of aiding youth with resources and financial aid to assist with mental health battles, which could lead to suicide ideations. Curry is sharing her story in hopes of helping others who have lost someone, know someone struggling, or are struggling themselves.
In addition to the “Suicide Awareness” presentation, there will be other events.
On September 14th, 15th and 20th, Heather Stephens, Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator for Community Based Interventions-Suicide Prevention will be conducting VA S.A.V.E, (Save, Ask, Validate and Encourage) training for TU students, faculty and staff. The training will be about signs of suicidal thinking, encouragement. and treatment.
Each athletic team at TU has identified a particular cause in which they will be involved. Members of the women’s basketball, women’s soccer, women’s flag football, and baseball teams have chosen suicide awareness. As a result, they will demonstrate their support for mental health and suicide prevention during halftime of TU’s women’s soccer game on Saturday, September 16th at TU Soccer Complex. The teams will recite the National Suicide Prevention Pledge to advocate for suicide prevention and pin themselves with acrylic purple and teal pins.
Each team member will each handout ribbons and encourage two additional TU students to take the National Suicide Prevention Pledge from September 18th – 22nd ensuring more students commit to support suicide prevention.
Suicide Awareness Month’s activities will culminate in a Suicide Prevention Walk and Health Fair for students, faculty and staff. There will a number of community organizations including Georgia Pines, Green Leaf, 90Works, Turing Point, and the Vet Center at the fair to provide information on mental health and suicide prevention.