HeartLine

Every day, someone in Oklahoma dies by suicide, leaving friends and family behind to try to make sense of a tragic loss. In Oklahoma, suicide is also the 2nd leading cause of death for young people aged 10-24. November 17th is International Survivors of Suicide Day, a time set aside for the survivor community to come together for mutual support, and practical guidance on coping with grief. HeartLine would like to honor survivors of suicide.

If you’ve lost someone you love to suicide, you are not alone; you are a part of a unique network of others who understand the profound loss and overwhelming emotions of losing a loved one to suicide.At HeartLine, we want to honor the memory of those who have been lost to suicide and show our support to the families and friends who have been left behind. No one chooses to walk the path of a suicide survivor, but there is hope, help, and healing to light the way.

HeartLine is here to offer support and resources. Call 2-1-1 for information and referrals for many different services such as Survivors of Suicide groups, counseling, and mental health care. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK. Call Specialists are standing by, 24 hours a day. For information about HELP, HeartLine’s youth suicide prevention initiative, visit our dedicated Suicide Prevention and Outreach page.

This blog brought to you by Kelly Rogers, Call Center Team Lead

KOCO-TV 5, HeartLine, Oklahoma’s Community Crisis Connection, and The United Way of Central Oklahoma,  are partnerhing to announce “A Day Of Hope.” This special community event on Monday, November 12th is focused on teenage suicide prevention and anchored by KOCO-TV 5’s Jessica Schambach. “A Day Of Hope” will provide community resources and local experts with support and assistance for families and teenagers, all to help save lives.

Teenage suicide is at a crisis level in our community. Oklahoma ranks as the 12th highest in the nation for deaths by suicide, according to 2009 data. One in four local teenagers surveyed by HeartLine has experienced depression and/or thought about suicide. In the city of Edmond alone, three unrelated teenagers died by suicide in a two week period earlier this year. After covering these tragic stories, Jessica Schambach and the news team at KOCO-TV 5 decided to take action against this trend, partnering with HeartLine and the United Way. “A Day Of Hope” is the result. Local families who have lost a child to suicide are also joining in this event, courageously sharing their stories to help keep other families from experiencing this devastating loss.

“This is a critical issue for local families and our entire community. As a mother I can’t imagine the heartbreak of losing a child,” said Jessica Schambach, KOCO-TV 5 Anchor. “Reporting on this story exposed the need for more help and with help comes hope. We are grateful to HeartLine and United Way for partnering with us in this important effort to save lives.”

“A Day Of Hope” begins Monday November 12th with KOCO-TV 5’s Eyewitness News 5 in the Morning. HeartLine’s  Director of Development, Lisa Harper, will be live in the KOCO-TV 5 studios during the morning news to talk about the crisis and share help available. HeartLine has been serving Oklahoma since 1971, and provides suicide prevention outreach programs, listening and intervention services, and answers the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for 76 of 77 Oklahoma counties. Promotion of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, 1-800-273-TALK, will also begin in the morning news and continue the entire day on KOCO-TV 5. Later in the afternoon, people will be able to submit questions online in a live anonymous web forum on KOCO.com from 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. The live forum will be moderated and feature an expert answering submitted questions. KOCO.com will also feature an enhanced Suicide Prevention resource page where visitors can get access to many resources all in one place.

Coverage continues with Jessica Schambach anchoring the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. news live from the United Way of Central Oklahoma. There a panel of experts will answer live and submitted viewer questions. Schambach will also share stories of local families working to overcome their loss and prevent others from losing a child to suicide in the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. shows. Schambach will conclude coverage with a special story on Eyewitness News 5 at 10 p.m.

Members of the special panel airing live at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. will include: Susan Alberts, School Psychologist at Edmond North High School; Sarah Barry, Business and Community Development Liaison at Integris Mental Health; Kris Bryant, Senior Supervisor and Therapist, NorthCare Children’s Mobile Crisis Team; David Harris, Prevention Program Manager, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; Louise Thurman, Psychiatrist and CEO of IPS Research Company; Rachel Yates, Director of Suicide Prevention and Outreach Programs at HeartLine; Kenneth Elliott, Director of the Violence Prevention Project at the University of Central Oklahoma.

“A Day Of Hope” airs on KOCO TV-5 and KOCO.com, Monday, November 12, 2012.

What a great way to end the week with a news interview on KFOR 4 about HeartLine’s Festival of Hope! Thank you Rocky Dunham for joining HeartLine on the show to talk about how HeartLine has impacted your life.

Festival of Hope is August 24th at 6:30 p.m. at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Co- Chaired by Tom and Lisa Price, this event seeks to raise awareness and funds for HeartLine’s vital programs. To learn more about this event, view a sponsor list, and purchase tickets online, please visit the Festival of Hope page.

Tragedy has hit the Edmond community with three teen suicides in only two weeks.  Suicide is the second leading cause of death in Oklahoma for youth ages 10-24 and Oklahoma ranks 8^th worst nationally in deaths by suicide. 

HeartLine has been Oklahoma’s Community Crisis Connection for over 40 years, offering help, hope, and information 24 hours a day through 2-1-1, an information and referral line for health and human services and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK.  Lisa Harper, HeartLine’s Director of Development states, “Dealing with the loss of a friend or loved one is difficult and we encourage anyone looking for a listening ear to call into one of HeartLine’s many available lines. Also, individuals interested in finding resources for mental health providers or counseling can call 2-1-1 to receive referral information specific to their needs.  These calls will be answered right in the heart of Oklahoma City, by fellow Oklahomans that are ready and willing to listen with compassion and care.”

For schools, HeartLine offers HELP, a free youth suicide prevention initiative called the Healthy Education for Life Program. The Healthy Education for Life Program includes information on the impact of depression, school and parental issues, substance abuse and other youth-related challenges and helps identify at-risk students. The program focuses on teaching youth common warning signs of suicide and a three step action plan of how to get help individually or for a friend. Following the presentations, over 26% of youth have self-identified as being at risk for suicide or depression.  These students are directly referred for additional mental health treatment. The video-based program currently reaches approximately 5,000 Oklahoma youth annually. 

HeartLine’s HELP program is listed on the Suicide Prevention Resource Centers Best Practices Registry for its adherence to standards. Middle and High Schools in the Oklahoma City Metro Area, including areas like Edmond and Norman, can contact HeartLine to have the program brought to their school at no cost.  “HeartLine believes that education is a key to prevention,” states Kelly Nutter, HeartLine’s Executive Director. “Teaching young people the warnings signs to watch for in a friend can truly save a life.”

HeartLine, Oklahoma’s Community Crisis Connection, is only a phone call away.  HeartLine operates twenty-four hours a day through 2-1-1, the national suicide prevention lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255), and provides call specialists trained in crisis intervention and compassionate listening skills to speak with callers in need.   

For more information or to request a presentation, contact Harper at 840-9396, email lharper@heartlineoklahoma.org or visit http://www.heartlineoklahoma.org/.

Heritage Hall Middle School student body

It was our pleasure on October 27th and 28th to visit Heritage Hall Middle School.  We had the rare treat of presenting seven HELP presentations simultaneously to seventh and eighth graders on the 27th and awarding Heritage Hall Middle School with the Audrey Hatley Award on the 28th.  Heritage Hall received the award for incorporating HeartLine’s HELP initiative into its seventh and eighth grade curriculum last year.  See the link for a gallery of photographs from the presentation.

Audrey Hatley Award Presentation 2011 Photo Gallery

A History of the Audrey Hatley Award

Each year, HeartLine recognizes a school that has placed special emphasis on health and safety education.  Recipients incorporate any of a number of public safety initiatives, such as suicide prevention and awareness, mental health education, depression screenings, substance abuse awareness, and school violence awareness, into their overall curriculum. The award is named for Audrey Hatley, a fourteen-year-old girl who took her own life. Audrey Hatley’s story is a reminder of the importance of understanding and taking action on the warning signs of depression and suicide.

HELP–the Healthy Education for Life Program

HELP, HeartLine’s Healthy Education for Life Program, provides free, interactive training to increase awareness and empower students to prevent bullying and suicide among peers. Since its inception in 1997, HELP has reached over 41,000 students in the Oklahoma City metro area with its in-class presentations and seminars. HELP learning opportunities focus on dispelling the negative stigma of getting help for mental illness and suicidal tendencies, understanding the warning signs of suicide in peers, and learning how to take action so that at-risk students are identified and receive the help they need. ASK-LISTEN-TELL is the cornerstone of HELP and is a simple and easily remembered model that students can employ if they suspect a peer is depressed or suicidal.

In 2008, HeartLine’s HELP initiative was recognized by the American Association of Suicidology Best Practices Registry for suicide prevention. The initiative includes a 20-minute video, role playing activities, an interactive story board activity, and the cornerstone of HELP: the Ask-Listen-Tell model. HELP presentations also include a brief evaluation in which students have the opportunity to self identify as being at risk for depression or suicide.

For more information about HeartLine’s HELP initiative, please contact Lisa Harper, Director of Suicide Prevention and Outreach Programs at lharper@heartlineoklahoma.org or by phone at 405.840.9396 x114.

Today marks our last post in recognition of Mental Illness Awareness Week 2011. We hope you’ve taken the opportunity to learn more about mental illness and what you can do to help those who may be suffering. We leave you with four important statistics that relate directly to Oklahomans.

• Mental health problems affect 1 in 5 American families

• 60 to 90 percent of all suicidal behaviors are associated with some form of mental illness or substance use disorder.

• Oklahoma is ranked 13th in the country for deaths by suicide.

• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24 in Oklahoma.

These stats are sobering, but know that help is available. HeartLine call specialists are available 24 hours a day/7 days a week to help those in crisis. As a reminder, here are our numbers.

• 2-1-1 for information and referral
• 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE for suicide prevention
• 848-CARE for compassionate listening
• 1-800-522-4700 for the Oklahoma Problem Gambling Helpline

For more information on mental illness and mental health, visit the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) website here.

Today we present our second piece for the week on mental health. This blog post is from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and calls attention to the importance of mental health screening and follow-up care for teens.

When I began my freshman year of high school, I was struggling to overcome a traumatic childhood. Often I was plagued with feelings of guilt, shame, self-hatred and sadness, which often triggered debilitating bouts of depression…

Youth Shouldn’t Struggle In Silence full article

This week we partner with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI, to shed light on common misunderstandings about mental illness. Take a look at three of the biggest myths, and pass this information along to others.

Myth #1: There is no help for people with mental illnesses.

Fact: There are many treatments, strategies, community support groups, and medications available. For more information visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness at www.nami.org.

Myth #2: I can’t do anything for someone with mental health needs.

Fact: You can do a lot, starting with the way you act and how you speak. For example:

• Avoid labeling people with words like “crazy,” “insane,” or “loony.”
• Learn the fact about mental health and share them with others.
• Treat people with mental illness with respect and dignity as you would anyone else.

Myth #3: Depression results from a personality weakness or charater flaw, and a depressed person could snap out of it if they just tried hard enough.

Fact: Depression has nothing to do with being lazy or weak and is generally caused by changes in brain chemistry or brain function. Research shows that these changes can be genetic or biological and can be treated effectively.