At the September 13, 2022, City Council meeting, the City of Santa Clarita proclaimed the month of September as Suicide Prevention Month. To bring more awareness to this important topic, the City of Santa Clarita is partnering with the local non-profit Be the Difference SCV to provide mental health resources to the community. Through the use of the City’s Mental Health website and Be the Difference’s website, residents can become more educated and aware of local, state and federal mental health resources. This collaboration comes just after the Department of Health and Human Services activated their new 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This free and confidential phone number will help support people in distress and provide prevention and crisis resources.
In 2020, the United States had one death by suicide every 11 minutes. Currently, suicide is the leading cause of death for people ages 10-34 years old. Creating platforms that are a safe haven for our residents during times of need is essential to maintaining and providing the best quality of life in Santa Clarita. Be the Difference SCV strives to spread awareness through education and help break the stigma that is more than often associated with mental illness.
Additionally, the City and the Santa Clarita Valley Suicide Prevention, Postvention and Wellness Committee are working together to create new signage that will be displayed at select railroad crossings in Santa Clarita. Each of these signs will display the new 24/7 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline phone number, the City’s mental health resources website and a QR code that will directly link to resources from Be the Difference SCV.
For more information about any of the mental health resources, please visit santa-clarita.com/MentalHealth or bethedifferencescv.org.