SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — September is Suicide Prevention Month, and on Wednesday, the world honors Suicide Prevention Day.
College campuses are emphasizing the resources they have for students who are struggling. Many counselors at local universities are reminding students that they are not alone and, should they need, help is always available.
"We're here for our future, but our future is not a future without our mental health," said Yamilé Nader, a student at Marywood University.
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World Suicide Prevention Awareness Day is September 10, and several area universities mark the day by connecting with their students.
"Today, we'll be tabling, giving information out to students on mental health resources on campus and in our community. We're also raising awareness for suicide prevention," Sarah Smith, coordinator of counseling at Penn State Scranton, told 28/22 News.
Students at Penn State Scranton learned about the new initiative on campus called QPR,Question, Persuade, Refer, will train interested students on how best to approach their peers who may be struggling.
"The college-age population, anyone ages 15-24, are at particular risk because it is the second leading cause of death in this age group. We have seen, though, a decrease amongst that age group on college campuses with the support that our services provide," Smith explained.
At Marywood University, students are encouraged to wear purple or teal, the official colors of suicide prevention.
"I have seen a couple, a couple of my friends decided to wear purple. I'm really happy about it, because clearly it's a very important topic, and it shows how much people care about it," Nader commented.
Marywood offers professional counselors, mission services, and a CARE team, a resource dedicated to early intervention.
"What we do is we seek to identify students who may need some extra resources, whether that be mental health, but that goes beyond mental health. It could also be different medical needs or academic needs, but certainly a big piece of it are mental health needs," Steven Craig, director of counseling at Marywood University said.
Students felt a sense of solidarity with their peers, seeing them come together to shine a light of hope across their campus.
"I hope everyone, no matter what they're going through, understands that they're not alone, and that there's people around them that they can lean on, and to not be afraid to talk to people because that, sometimes, is the hardest part," Sampson Moyik, a student at Marywood University, said.
"Don't be afraid to talk, and it's okay. We've all been there. It's a little scary to talk to other people about struggles, but once you start talking, it gets better," Nader assured.
A lot of college students are now better prepared should they need to reach out for help on their campuses, thanks to Wednesday's honoring of Suicide Prevention Day.
