County offers crisis hotlines, suicide prevention programs

Yamhill County’s Health and Human Services Department offers several hotlines for people in crisis, along with training in suicide prevention for agencies, organizations and communities, along with training in becoming “mental health safe zones,” for businesses and organizations.

Safe zones are places that have met suicide-prevention and mental health promotion standards. The program is available to businesses, civic organizations, churches and other religious or faith-based organizations, schools, healthcare organizations and social service agencies.

“Suicide prevention is a critical priority area for HHS. We work to provide a full spectrum of programs, services and initiatives in this area,” HHS Director Lindsey Manfrin said.

Training in suicide-prevention is free and open to everyone. Learn more by calling 971-312-2981, or emailing MurrayK@co.yamhill.or.us.

The county offers three different programs, including Connect, a program that responds after a school, community or workplace has lost a member to suicide. Known as “postvention,” the work is intended to help survivors heal, and prevent further deaths.

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Mental Health First Aid teaches participants how to identify and respond to early signs of mental illness and substance abuse. QPR, which stands for question, persuade and refer, teaches participants to recognize warning signs of suicide and how to offer hope. More information is available online at qprinstitute.com.

Manfrin said, “Over the last year and a half, more than 500 individuals have been trained in QPR suicide prevention.”

Deaths by suicide in the county “are typically higher than state and national averages but have increased sharply since 2019,” according to the county’s website.

Survivors of suicide loss are at higher risk, as are the LGBTQ community, military veterans and older adults.

The county also offers a limited number of firearm lockboxes for both handguns and long guns, that may be requested by filling out a form online, at www.yamhillcounty.gov/624/Suicide-Prevention, as well as hotlines, trainings and resource cards.

“Using data that shows firearms are by far the most common method used in deaths by suicide in the County, the county has distributed more than 200 firearm lockboxes to community members for free and participates in the Statewide Oregon Firearm Safety Coalition (OFSC) whose mission is to prevent firearm deaths by suicide through voluntary community-led strategies. This work includes partnership and training with gun clubs and those who sell firearms,” Manfrin said.

Hotlines available

Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can call 1-844-842-8200.

Teenagers can also seek help from a teen-specific help line, by texting “teen2teen” to 839863, or calling 1-877-968-8491.

The LGBTQ community may access knowledgeable help by calling the LGBTQ suicide hotline, at 1-866-488-7386.

There is also a national suicide hotline available at 1-800-273-8255, and a Spanish language line, at 1-888-628-9454. People may also text 273TALK to 839863.
A military suicide hotline is available at 1-888-457-4838, or by texting MIL1 to 839863.

Also available are: Senior Loneliness line: 1-503-200-1633; and Mental Health Peer Support Line: 1-503-474-5509.