A record number of people in the United States died of suicide last year, while the country's suicide rate reached the highest level in over 80 years, per Axios: pic.twitter.com/iBxUn7rp69
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Rate of suicide in the U.S. peaks among older men, a hard demographic to reach
“If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services.
The hardest group for Dennis Gillan to get to talk about suicide is older men. They also happen to have the highest rate of suicide in the United States.
Gillan, 60, is from Greenville, South Carolina, and he’s been a front-row observer to the crisis. He’s a self-trained suicide expert who speaks on college campuses and at corporate training offices about mental health awareness. He draws on his personal experience, following the deaths, about a decade apart, of his brothers Mark and Matthew by suicide. Both men were in their early 20s.
Of all the groups he’s worked with, older men are among the trickiest demographic to reach. Getting them in the room and speaking candidly has been one of the toughest challenges.”
AC