Suicide prevention conference expects to draw large crowd

Some 800 people are expected to attend the fifth annual Suicide Prevention & Awareness Conference in Cape Girardeau next month, underscoring the need to address the growing problem, organizers said Wednesday.

The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 19 at the Show Me Center.

Last year, more than 600 people attended the conference, which is the largest such conference held in Missouri, said Rick Strait, a therapist at the Community Counseling Center whose efforts led to establishment of the event.

This year's conference marks the first time the event will include specific programs just for adolescents and "young advocates" for suicide prevention, Strait said.

More than 40 adolescents, ages 12 to 17, have registered so far, he said.

Other programs will be offered to adults, who are expected to account for the majority of participants.

"We are averaging about 20 to 30 sign-ups a day," Strait said.

According to online statistics from the Missouri Institute of Mental Health, suicide is the second-leading cause of death in the state among those ages 15 to 19 and 25 to 34, and the third leading cause of death among those ages 10 to 14, and 20 to 24.

In Missouri, one out of eight middle-school students and one out of six high school students seriously considered suicide, according to a 2016 survey, Strait said.

More than 1,000 Missourians died by suicide in 2015. That year, Missouri's suicide rate was the 17th highest in the nation with nearly 17 deaths per 100,000 people, according to institute statistics.

Nationwide, about 45,000 people per year die from suicide, Strait said.

The local conference annually draws different types of people, from counselors to individuals who have coped with thoughts of suicide and those family members who have been affected by suicide. Business owners have attended, too.

Strait said the conference is open to anyone who wants to learn more about suicide prevention. Suicide, he said, "impacts everybody."

The Community Counseling Center Foundation hosts the conference, which includes lunch, and is free to participants, said Mary Burton, the foundation's executive director.

The theme of this year's event is "Resilience, Finding Your Inner Strength."

The conference will have two keynote speakers, one in the morning session and another in the afternoon.

Keynote speakers Tracey Medeiros, who survived a suicide attempt, and Annemarie Matulis are active in suicide prevention efforts in Massachusetts.

Burton said the more information people have, the better they are able to help those who are struggling with thoughts of suicide.

She said individuals may go online to suicidepreventionconference.com/register-cape/ to sign up for the conference.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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