Metro Health marks Suicide Awareness Month with new programming [Video]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) has launched a new mental health program to mark National Suicide Awareness Month.

MPHD hosted its first Hope Is Available event on Wednesday, September 11. The Hope Is Available program is a two-part series featuring talks from mental health experts, public health professionals and those with lived experiences about suicide prevention and awareness.

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“Each month, an average of nine people die by suicide in Nashville,” interim Director of Health for MPHD, Dr. Joanna Shaw-KaiKai, said in a press release. “Ignoring the problem will not stop our community’s struggles with suicide.”

On September 3, Metro Council adopted a resolutionofficially recognizing September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The resolution cited statistics in 2021 and 2022, adding that 115 people died by suicide in 2022. That number was the highest number in the last five years for Davidson County. The …