In the United States, over 49,000 people died by suicide in 2023, with one death occurring every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To combat this epidemic, the “Be the Difference” Suicide Prevention Forum was held on Tuesday at Temple Beth Ami to address warning signs, while providing resources to families and those who struggle with their mental health.
Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami started the discussion, before introducing Dr. Susan Igdaloff, a retired pediatrician, Larry Schallert, retired assistant director of the Student Health and Wellness Center at College of the Canyons, and Erin Hickman, a licensed marriage and family therapist.
“We felt that it was important for you to join us tonight and be a part of this important moment. We wanted to create an opportunity, a forum, a moment for people to be able to do something. We know, in this country, this is a completely ignored, stigmatized, mishandled situation when it comes to mental health,” Blazer said. “This is a safe space.”
Blazer introduced Igdaloff. Although she has experience as a medical professional, she also discussed how she was impacted by suicide: by losing her son.
“I’m a survivor of suicide loss — my son. There’s a group that I was fortunately able to connect with a number of years ago out here. As I have been working through my journey of loss, which is the Santa Clarita Valley Suicide Prevention, Post Prevention and Wellness Committee, it’s a coalition without any money that meets monthly to talk about suicide and mental health in the Santa Clarita Valley,” Igdaloff said.
According to Igdaloff, the meetings entail meeting professionals and others who may benefit from connecting with others with similar struggles.
“It includes people from the city, law enforcement, sometimes news, mental health professionals, physicians, concerned people in the community, and it’s open if someone really feels that this may be a place that can contribute or benefit from,” Igdaloff said. “People don’t know what the risk signs are for suicide, and often don’t know where to get help, or how to get help.”
Schallert discussed terms such as “trigger” and “stigma” and their implications.
“As we talk about it, you may be triggered. Somebody you know, or yourself, may need to take a time out … There is a stigma to having mental health problems, there’s a stigma to getting care. We’ll always be trying to break that stigma, because we’re all people, and we all have mental health concerns,” Schallert said.
According to Schallert, one of the concepts the professionals wanted to address is how to “check on the strong.”
“Sometimes, with somebody who looks strong, there’s always something going on. [We want to] teach you how to approach somebody without the anxiety that you might have.”
The city of Santa Clarita’s “Be the Difference” video was played, in which residents discussed the impact of losing someone close to them to suicide. The six key indicators were also discussed: verbal, behavior, mood, health, environment and historical.
Hickman was available to speak to anyone who needed to talk in confidentiality, while a Q&A session was open for attendees to engage in an open discussion following the video.
Igdaloff, who is Jewish, incorporated her faith when discussing taking action toward saving lives: “In Judaism, it is said that if you save one life, it is as if you have saved the world. And that’s what this is all about.”
For information on local resources, visit: BeTheDifferenceSCV.org.
