The month of September is Suicide Prevention Awareness month and September 10th was World Suicide Prevention Awareness Day.  As I have said in previous newsletters, suicide is a tragic end to a life and is one of the fastest growing epidemics in the US and across the world. Each year in the US alone 44,000 people commit suicide, and 31,000 of those suicides are Caucasian males. Suicide Prevention Awareness Month raises awareness about these tragic deaths and encourages education about how suicide can be prevented.

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay answers calls in our community for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and works in collaboration with many other community organizations to promote awareness about suicide, mental illnesses challenges associated with suicide, as well as activities around suicide prevention throughout the year.  We also come together with our community partners to host World Suicide Prevention Awareness day.  This year, the World Suicide Prevention Awareness Day event was interrupted by Hurricane Irma.  We've made sure to include the new date, time, and location in this newsletter.

I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to reflect on how the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay responded to Irma - our community's most recent crisis. The Crisis Center operates 3 critical services that are available for the community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:  the Gateway 2-1-1 Contact Center, Sexual Assault Services, and TransCare.  Days leading up to and after the storm, the Crisis Center served thousands of our community's most vulnerable citizens. Joe and Godfrey were two of them. Joe is a 65 year old man who was desperate to find shelter and Godfrey, a paralyzed veteran, needed help finding transportation to a special needs shelter. We also facilitated donations by Kenny, a local philanthropist, to shelters across our region.  Our Crisis Center staff made certain that Joe and Godfrey and many others did not have to face crisis alone.  I want to thank those staff members, many of whom worked 72 straight hours, for making certain that every member of our community had access to information and safety at their darkest hour.

As I reflect on Suicide Prevention Awareness month, I am reminded that crisis can occur at any time. For this reason and many others, I am proud that the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is here to provide help, hope and healing no matter the situation.

Clara