The Frederick County announced the creation of a new Suicide Prevention Coalition.
Suicide prevention has been an identified area of concern in the community for several years. In Frederick County, the number of suicides has been trending upwards over the last decade. Men are more likely to complete a suicide than women, and one in 6 deaths by suicide are veterans.
The mission of the Frederick County Suicide Prevention Coalition is to make Frederick County free of suicide through community collaboration rooted in suicide prevention best practices for safe and responsible gun storage, eliminating stigma surrounding suicide, and support for anyone thinking of or impacted by suicide.
“The members of this coalition will work to address this serious public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families and communities,” shared Andrea Walker, the lead for the Coalition and the Director of the Behavioral Health Services Division and Chief Behavioral Health Strategist for the Frederick County Health Department. “Our goal is for Frederick County to be free from suicide, not to simply reduce the suicide rate.”
More than 20 collaborators have come together to support this Coalition, which will focus on outreach and education, responsible gun ownership, postvention and supportive services, and veterans, including:
- Brunswick Police Department
- Faith Based Community Representatives
- Firearms Retailer
- Frederick Community College
- Frederick County Child Advocacy Center
- Frederick County Department of Social Services
- Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services
- Frederick County Emergency Management
- Frederick County Public Schools
- Frederick County Senior Services Division
- Frederick County Sheriff’s Office
- Frederick Health Hospice
- Frederick Health Hospital
- Frederick Police Department
- Harm Reduction Services / Frederick County Health Department
- Martinsburg VA Medical Center – Veterans Crisis Line, Spread the Word
- Maryland State’s Attorney Office – Community Resources
- Maryland Treatment Centers
- Maryland’s Commitment to Veterans
- Mental Health Association of Frederick
- Mountain Manor – Outpatient Substance Use Treatment Provider
- Office of Suicide Prevention, MDH
- Platoon 22 – Supportive Veteran’s Organization
- Serving Together – Supportive Veteran’s Organization
- Sheppard Pratt
- Survivor of Suicide & Suicide Loss Survivor
- The Frederick County Community Foundation
- The Ranch – Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Provider
- Trauma Responsive Frederick
For more information visit health.frederickcountymd.gov/SuicidePreventionCoalition.
