Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz was joined today by Commissioner of Mental Health Mark O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Crisis Services Jessica Pirro, Coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County Celia Spacone, CEO of the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers (“BFNC”) Chandra Redfern, and concerned citizens in front of the Edward A. Rath county office building to spread a message of hope and proclaim “Suicide Prevention Week” in Erie County. Following remarks the group raised a yellow “Flag of Hope” on the Rath building flagpole as a symbol of hope against this public health crisis. World Suicide Prevention day is Saturday, September 10th and yellow is the color chosen to highlight the issue of suicide prevention.

“Today we gather to voice our support, our compassion and our care for those who feel that they are alone, have no one to talk to, or have no way out of the problems they are facing. There are people who care and who can help, and they are right here waiting to hear your voice,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “Together with our partners we are committed to ending the scourge of suicide in Erie County, and by working together we can remove the stigma associated with suicide and help to foster and instill positive, healthy attitudes.”

Erie County Commissioner of Mental Health Mark O’Brien added, “Awareness of the issues surrounding suicide is critical. As we join with our partners today we are renewing our commitment to stopping suicide and creating a healthy, supportive community. It’s essential that we reach out to those around us, check in with the people in our lives and in our communities, and make sure that people know that they are valued, appreciated and loved.”

World Suicide Prevention Day was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO, a person takes their life every 45 seconds, an estimated 703,000 people annually worldwide. For each suicide approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected, resulting in 108 million people, annually, who are profoundly impacted by suicidal behaviors. For every suicide, 25 people make a suicide attempt and many more have serious thoughts of suicide.

Coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County Celia Spacone said, “Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Every time someone dies by suicide over 100 people are devastated and experience lasting effects. While in many locales suicide rates have been climbing, that has not been the case in Erie County over the last 2 1/2 years. We think that the great work done by the over 50 partner agencies of the Suicide Prevention Coalition is part of this success. Even in the midst of the pandemic, they stepped up to provide outreach and mental health services and supports. Our message today is that there is hope to prevent suicide!”

For more information:

On the Erie County Department of Mental Health, visit https://www3.erie.gov/mentalhealth/    

On Crisis Services, visit https://crisisservices.org/

On the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County, visit  https://suicidepreventionecny.org/

On the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, visit  https://bfnc.org/  

On the World Health Organization, visit https://www.who.int/ 

On the International Association for Suicide Prevention, visit  https://www.iasp.info/   

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