La Plata County did not see a significant increase in suicides amid the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic as other parts of the country did, a testament to the community and services available, health experts say.
Since 2010, La Plata County has reported about 13 deaths by suicide a year, according to state data. This year, the La Plata County coroner said there were 14 deaths by suicide.
Health experts in La Plata County said as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic became more apparent, significant efforts were made to be able to provide services and alleviate expected hardships.
“There have been incredible risk factors this year that have increased the likelihood of suicide attempts,” said Breeah Kinsella, executive director of Celebrating Healthy Communities.
Kinsella said people in La Plata County are tight-knit, “which is one of the most protective factors” when it comes to preventing suicides. So when the pandemic started in March, health organizations came together quickly to plan.
“Before we even got into the shutdown, we all sat down, and said, ‘This is what we need to do and here’s the funding,’” she said.
While mental health is definitely a part of what drives people to die by suicide, there are other major risk factors, such as not having access to food, income instability, lack of housing and a loss of connection to other people.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down businesses and limited people gathering in person, seemingly drove all of those risk factors up.
“The pandemic was a recipe for disaster,” Kinsella said.
But nonprofits jumped out in front.
A new group, called In The Weeds, for example, set out at the outset of the pandemic to bring financial aid to many restaurant workers who lost their jobs or were temporarily out of work.
Community organizations also helped provide financial help to pay for rent and utilities. And throughout the pandemic, hundreds of volunteers have signed up to deliver food, school supplies or even just talk over the phone to those in need.
“We provided for people who lost everything,” Kinsella said. “We do that even when the pandemic isn’t here, but it’s just not a huge topic of conversation.”
Stephanie Allred, senior clinical director for Axis Health System, said telehealth services have been instrumental this year, which may have been another factor in avoiding a spike in suicides.
“It seems to finally be shifting that it’s more acceptable and supported to reach out,” she said.
But it’s not always counseling that people need, she said. Many times, suicides are driven by not having those basic needs, feeling stuck and making a split-second decision to take one’s own life as a way out.
“There are very difficult situations people find themselves in when they feel struck and don’t feel like there are other solutions,” Allred said. “That’s what we do well as a community: making sure people know there’s other solutions.”
In looking back this year at those who died by suicide, 13 of the 14 reported deaths were men, generally aged 30 to 65, and nearly all were white and died by a gunshot wound.
The most recent death by suicide was that of Travis Gruber, a 29-year-old La Plata County man who died Monday from a self-inflicted gunshot, the coroner said.
Kinsella said this is not a new trend. In recent years, a large number of men, who possibly have instability at work, such as in the oil and gas industry, ranching or service industry, and access to a firearm, have died by suicide.
Men typically have a harder time reaching out for help, Kinsella said, and can be impulsive in their decision to take their own life. One study showed it takes about 15 minutes between the decision to attempt suicide and doing it.
Kinsella said nonprofits in the region have secured grants to set up trainings for men in high-risk industries to teach them how to see signs of potential suicides in friends and coworkers.
“I think it is harder for men to ask for help or recognize that it’s a strength and not a weakness,” Allred said.
Elsa Inman, the community health administration manager for Centura Health, which owns Mercy Regional Medical Center, said a strategic plan has been put in place to target suicide prevention over the next three years.
The plan was developed by the La Plata County Suicide Prevention Collaborative, which brings numerous health organizations and community groups together to tackle the issue.
Of the main goals, one is to think of ways to provide help to people who may not necessarily want to sit in front of a therapist. And another is to reduce access to lethal means, such as firearms or pills, if people are at risk of suicide.
“It’s not about taking people’s rights away around gun ownership,” Inman said. “It’s more about patients who we think are suicidal, and having conversations with them about the ways in which they can carry out their plan.”
State records show, also, that about 40% of those who died by suicide had alcohol in their system, Allred said.
“We have to continue to target things we can target, like reduce substance abuse,” Allred said. “And when we reduce access to lethal means, especially firearms, people have time to get through that emotional urge.”
Inman said La Plata County has not seen a spike in suicides in 2020, but that doesn’t mean people in the community aren’t at risk, especially as the pandemic approaches its second year.
“We’re concerned about individuals with anxiety and depression that may not get the services and support they need that might put them at risk for suicide,” she said. “We know people are hurting and there’s a lot of suffering.”
Entering the new year, Kinsella said there needs to be a balanced approach to suicide prevention. White, middle-aged men accounted for most of the suicide deaths this year, but that doesn’t mean youths or people of color aren’t at risk.
“It has to be a whole community focus,” she said. “We have to build this holistic, supportive community, so if one step fails, there’s a safety net.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
How to get help
Help for people having suicidal thoughts or for those who fear a person is considering suicide:
Axis Care Hotline:
24/7 local response to your crisis & behavioral health needs: (970) 247-5245.
NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE:
(800) 273-TALK (8255) or text “TALK” to 741741.
RED NACIONAL DE PREVENCIÓN DEL SUICIDIO:
(888) 628-9454.
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE COUNSELING CENTER:
247-7212.
BOYS TOWN HOTLINE:
(800) 448-3000.
SAFE2TELL COLORADO:
(877) 542-7233 or
.
COLORADO CRISIS SUPPORT LINE:
(844) 493-8255 or text “TALK” to 38255 or online at
to access a live chat available in 17 languages. The line has mental-health professionals available to talk to adults or youths 24 hours a day.
AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION:
Colorado chapter information available at
afsp.org/chapter/afsp-colorado/
.
FOR MEN:
A website for adult men contemplating suicide is available at
.
