CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Thousands running in Saturday’s Speakup 5k event in Richmond's Byrd Park helped put a spotlight on teen depression and mental health.
With September being National Suicide Prevention Month, Chesterfield County has put together a coalition of community groups to bring awareness to suicide by recognizing when people, especially young people, may be in crisis.
Chesterfield social workers say events like the Cameron Gallagher Foundation's charity run are crucial in getting young people to talk about mental health and to seek out resources or simply someone to talk to.
The Chesterfield Suicide Prevention and Awareness Coalition is working to bring together groups from the community, such as sports teams, extracurricular clubs or church groups to educate people on how to spot someone in distress and get them the resources they need.
One 10-year-old race participant said she's already learned a lot about talking about difficult things.
"Sometimes it's hard for me to talk about things,” said Evalyn Poh, one of Cameron Gallagher’s cousins. “But I like having people know about things because that means that they're with me and that they know how I feel, and they can comfort me. And I like how I can comfort other people, too."
"It's someone in your natural system,” said Melissa Ackley, a social worker with Chesterfield County Mental Health Support Services. “It's your clergy members, the guy you run with. It’s potentially the person who cuts your hair, you know, things like that. And so we know that's particularly true for youth. We know that there are a variety of adults in youths' lives that have ongoing sustained contact with them that are really in a great position to be able to recognize when there's a change and then act to get help."
The Coalition will off a free Raise Your Voice About Suicide Prevention workshop on Zoom on September 27, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to educate participants about how to recognize and respond to signs of suicide and find local resources.
Advance registration is required. You can click herefor more information and use the link to register.
