Stronger as One: Community leaders rally for suicide prevention and mental health wellness

From the Arizona Daily Sun – April 23, 2019.   Kaitlin Olson

Flagstaff community members have been moved to action because of the severity of one particular mental health crisis: suicide.

According to a Coconino County Public Health Services District report, the suicide rate in Coconino County is higher than both the state and national rates. In 2018, there were 43 recorded deaths by suicide. Nearly half of the suicide-related hospital visits in the county between 2010 and 2015 were for people ages 10 to 24.

To combat these statistics, community leaders in the areas of government, health, education and business have joined to form the Stronger as One Coalition, a group that aims to increase the knowledge base and local resources for mental health.

The coalition is the product of October’s Stronger as One Symposium, a community discussion about mental health issues in northern Arizona hosted by the Northern Arizona Healthcare Foundation and the NARBHA Institute.