Director of Psychological Health talks about Suicide Prevention Awareness with the Samaritans

OTIS ANGB, MA, UNITED STATES

09.04.2020

Story by Senior Airman Junhao Yu 

102nd Intelligence Wing   

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, September is designated as National Suicide Prevention Month. Ms. Jill Garvin, the psychological health director at the 102nd Intelligence Wing, and Stephanie Kelly, executive director of the suicide prevention organization The Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands, sat together for a podcast to talk about suicide prevention and mental health.

“Most people know us from the signs on the Bourne and Sagamore Bridge,” said Kelly. “They’ve been there since the 80’s and people assume that we only stand at the bridge to stop people from hurting themselves but we’re much bigger than that.”

Kelly says she and her organization are focused on more than just crisis, because for a person to act on those thoughts, there are usually other contributing factors.

“What we do most of the time is provide social connections to people,” continued Kelly. “Some of the people we talk to include those who are lonely and feel isolated, sometimes it’s people who are going through a divorce, and sometimes it can be the older population here on Cape Cod who are losing their independence. All of our conversations are anonymous and I often encourage people who are going through any kind of struggle in life to give us a call.”

The Samaritans’ mission is not to fix someone’s life struggles because they don’t believe everything in life can be fixed, however they’re main goal is to listen without judgement so people can feel a sense of connection.

Garvin agrees, as she sees her job of providing mental health services to members of the military overlaps with some of The Samaritans’ philosophy.

“I often tell our members to reach out to me before life becomes a crisis,” said Garvin. She often hears that people just want someone to listen to them. It’s not always about providing a solution but just an attentive ear willing to acknowledge life’s “messiness.”

While Garvin and Kelly agree that it’s important to start having conversations before someone actually gets pulled into a life crisis, it’s also important to not shy away from using the word “suicide” when it’s appropriate to ask the hard question.

“We encourage people to use their own words when they talk to us,” said Kelly. “At the same time we also encourage them not to dodge using the word ‘suicide.’ Sometimes we should simply ask people ‘are you thinking about killing yourself?’ because if you ask people straight forward questions, you’ll get an honest answer. When people are in pain all they want to do is stop the pain, so without asking the hard question we won’t know how they feel.”

There is nothing shameful about discussing suicide or the feelings behind it. The Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands keep all conversations confidential and their services are not geographically limited to residents of Cape Cod.

The Samaritans can be reached at [phone] or [phone], and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at [phone]. Airmen can also reach out to the Veterans Crisis Line at [phone] or by visiting veteranscrisisline.net.

Help is available and please reach out if you or someone else you know is in crisis.

• Date Taken: 09.04.2020
• Date Posted: 09.29.2020 08:08
• Story ID: 379501
• Location: OTIS ANGB, MA, US