By DERRICK GALINDO, Senior Reporter
The month of September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to remember that even in our darkest hour, we are not alone.
National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month was declared in 2002, which makes September serve as the month in which we acknowledge those affected, connect individuals with suicidal thoughts to treatment and raise awareness of the problem suicide causes.
According to the CDC, suicide was responsible for over 49,000 deaths in 2022. Along with this, an estimated 13.2 million adults thought of commiting suicide, 3.8 million adults created a plan, and 1.6 million attempted to commit suicide.
If a student on campus has thoughts of suicide or harming others, there are resources available to help. Taylor Wilson, Director of Counseling and Career Services, is available to schedule 4-to-6 free appointments for students. If a student ever passes the free limit, she will help refer them to other licensed professionals in the area.
If Wilson is not available, people on campus can contact campus police in order to request access to the MyCare application on their iPad. This app will link them with a licensed professional and provide care.
If all else fails, call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988, which provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or loved ones.