A conversation about suicide prevention in Grant County

By Logan Bagett on Wednesday, September 11th, 2024 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories

JOHN DAY – September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and on KJDY’s Coffee Time were Grant County School Safety and Prevention Specialist Gordon Larson, along with Community Counseling Solutions Clinical Director Thad Labhart.

On the show, Labhart gave a harrowing statistic regarding our young population:

“The second-leading cause of death for ten-to-fourteen-year-olds is suicide. Think about that for a second…

And it’s not just youth—rates are extensively higher for wildland firefighters, for ranchers, for farmers. There are a lot of those listeners right now, and it’s just something we need to be aware of and make the call on behalf of somebody. It can be to us. It can [also] be to a safe adult.”

Anyone having a mental health emergency can call the 9-8-8 lifeline for help, or access 988lifeline.org. Local professionals are also available at (541) 575-1466. Resources are readily available.

Listen to the full podcast below: