When Survivors of Loss due to Addiction and Suicide first started offering grief counseling to people dealing with the loss of loved ones to suicide, it was typical for only three people to seek services. Since then, the program has experienced a surge, helping three new people this June alone.
"The group has really resurrected in the last three years," said Mary Hodson, executive director of Mental Health America of Porter County and SOLAS. "We're getting more and more phone calls. People are calling now before they've even buried their loved ones."
The number of suicide cases confirmed since Jan. 1 has already exceeded the number of suicides reported in all of 2008, Porter County Coroner Vicki Deppe said. While there were 15 suicides confirmed in Porter County last year, there have already been 22 cases reported so far in 2009. The number threatens to surpass the 29 suicides reported in 2007, the highest number recorded in 14 years.
Deppe said she expects the number of suicides this year to continue rising.
"Traditionally, those numbers will ebb and flow," said Bob Franko, vice president of marketing and development at Porter-Starke Services. "The increase (in suicides) this year has been alarming."
Franko said that while it is difficult to identify any single, underlying cause behind the increase in suicides, he believes pressure produced by a slumping economy could offer some explanation to the jump in number.
"The first thing we do is look at the numbers and see what's different this year than last year," Franko said. "Is the economy maybe increasing stress in areas of their life? Certianly it has some impact."
Mike Hofmann, director of admissions and emergency services at Porter-Starke, said there has been an influx of calls from people who have lost their jobs and find themselves overwhelmed.
"When someone has lost their job, they've lost a strong sense of their being," Hofmann said. "There are people who have no income coming in and are in fear of losing their homes, which can lead to other issues like marital problems. It starts this chain reaction of bad coping."
In her experience, Hodson said people are often hesitant to seek out assistance because they are unaware of the resources available to them.
"It's about redirecting their thought process and then getting into their hands the resources they need," Hodson said. "There's always a phone number to call. There are mental health professionals they can talk to. But many people are afraid they can't afford it."
Hodson said the MHA offers programs that help people purchase medications prescriptions provided by mental health care providers. Other pharmacies offer discounted, sample medications for people who cannot afford them otherwise. There are also free, 24-hour helplines that offer people a person to talk to in times of emotional crisis.
"In a crisis situation, we want people to be able to link up with someone who can pick up the phone immediately and listen to them," Hodson said. "No one really wants to commit suicide. They're really crying for help."
Hofmann said that while there are many reasons why people might consider suicide, there are a number of warning signs to look out for such as increased levels of anxiety, depression, recklessness, mood changes and substance abuse.
"When a lot of these factors are showing up, those are good triggers of whether or not it's time to have a conversation with that person over whether they're having suicidal thoughts," Hofmann said. "With a lot of individuals who have successfully attempted suicide, there seems to be a series of things that have happened and they thought suicide was the only answer. Of course, it's not."
