Suicide prevention speaker scheduled

According to recent statistics, there are more deaths by suicide annually in Georgia than there are deaths by homicide. Although deaths by suicide are not widely publicized, we all know about recent tragedies.

Sally vander Straeten, suicide prevention coordinator for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) will be in Albany Nov. 13-14. She will speak at the NAMI Night at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Phoebe Northwest. Her topic will be: New Hope for Suicide Prevention in Your Community.

This program is open to anyone who would like to attend.

There are seven active regional suicide prevention coalitions in the state of Georgia. Community members and organizations in these areas have joined together to provide a range of prevention services in the community, in schools and colleges. They have formed Survivors of Suicide support groups to help those who have lost a loved one to suicide.

It is time we developed a suicide prevention coalition again in Southwest Georgia. Let