FREE ACCESS: CRC hosting memorial for suicide loss Nov. 18

The Butler County Community Resource Council is gathering grieving community members at an annual event for International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day.

“The event aims to provide solace, awareness, and hope for survivors of suicide loss,” CRC said in a statement.

The group discussion and activity will be held noon-2:30 p.m. Saturday in Room 108 of the Robert W. Plaster Building at Three Rivers College. Non-loss survivors may also attend.

CRC started the event in 2018 through its Mental Health Coalition and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said CRC prevention specialist Alexus Joplin. This year participants will watch “Healing Together: Culture, Community, and Suicide Loss,” and a mental health professional will lead a discussion of the movie.

Joplin explained survivors will also create a candle as a group using different colors of wax to represent different losses.

“Each person will pick a color of wax to put in the jar ... depending on what sort of loss that they had. And then at the end, they will light the candle together. It’s a healing event, to know that you are not alone in this loss,” she said.

According to the Butler County CRC, Missouri had the 19th highest suicide rate in the nation in 2021. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for Missourians aged 18-34 and the third for ages 10-17. Veteran suicide rates were nearly three times higher than the general US population, and rural areas often had higher suicide rates than urban areas. These figures came from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Missouri Institute of Mental Health, University of Missouri — Partners in Prevention and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

In past years, International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day has “created a sense of belonging and understanding within the community,” the CRC wrote in a statement. “It fostered open conversations about mental health and suicide, reducing stigma and encouraging those in need to seek help.”

Joplin encouraged those dealing with loss to attend and connect.

“This is a great opportunity to meet people who directly understand what you’re going through... take that chance to meet other people that have that understanding,” she said.

Registration is required but free at poplar-bluff-missouri.isosld.afsp.org. More information is available by contacting Joplin at 573-776-7830 ext. 115 or emailing prevention@thecrc.org.