Walk brings awareness to suicide issue

Sept. 09--Fifteen-year-old Djay Harris of Jacksonville was one of about 200 people who walked around the Jacksonville High School Bowl on Thursday for purely personal reasons.

Like Harris, many of those who walked alongside him did so because they have lost someone to suicide.

The Walk Out of the Darkness event -- sponsored by the Morgan-Scott Suicide Prevention Coalition -- was moved to the JHS Bowl from the downtown square because of weather conditions earlier in the day.

"The reason I'm here at this event is to support the Suicide Prevention Coalition," Harris said. "I believe that when people commit suicide, they damage the lives of their loved ones." Harris said he lost a close friend to suicide in 2014.

Many others walked to remember lives lost too soon.

"I'm walking to honor my friends, family and clients who I've lost to suicide," said Yoli Holmes, director of Memorial Behavioral Health Jacksonville. "For me, it's about honoring their memory and making sure that they know they were loved and cared for."

Julia DeGroot, an employment specialist for Memorial Behavioral Health Jacksonville and a member of its psychiatric response team, said it was a way to pay tribute to those she knows who have died by suicide "and to hopefully give someone peace and hope that might be struggling."

Thursday's event also featured music by members of the JHS band and choir and brief remarks by Bill Tennill, a licensed clinical social worker at Passavant Area Hospital's behavioral health unit. Tennill spoke about "loved ones lost to suicide and how to keep others from being lost."

Many of those who attended received small crocheted hearts from the Peyton Heart Project, which recognizes a 13-year-old boy who took his life in 2014. The hearts have inspirational quotes attached to them and are made by Janet Snyder of Jacksonville.

"The [Suicide Prevention Coalition] came about in the fall of 2014 after some concerned citizens recognized the need for addressing mental health and suicides after there were eight suicides in six weeks in Morgan and Scott counties," DeGroot said.

Memorial Behavioral Health Jacksonville, an affiliate of Memorial Health System, is a member of the Morgan-Scott Suicide Prevention Coalition. The Jacksonville office is at 340 W. State St. and offers individual and family therapy, psychiatry and mental health crisis intervention, among other services.

"The goals of the coalition are awareness and prevention of suicide," DeGroot said. "We want to make sure that people understand that there is someone out there they can talk to and if they have a loved one that they are concerned about that they know what signs to look for and how to get help."

Around the time the coalition was formed, Memorial Health System conducted a health needs assessment for Passavant Area Hospital.

"One of the top needs the assessment identified was a need for increased mental health services in the area served by Passavant hospital," Holmes said.

"Among the action steps Memorial Health System is taking to bridge the gap is bringing Mental Health First Aid to the community," Holmes said.

Mental Health First Aid is an international, evidence-based training program designed to teach community members how to recognize mental health problems and how to provide "mental health first aid" until a mental health professional arrives.

Greg Olson can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1224, or on Twitter @JCNews_Greg.

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