Suicide Prevention Group Girds For Funding Push 

Gongwer

The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation is asking lawmakers to put it out of business.

Executive Director Tony Coder and several suicide loss survivors expressed that goal at a Statehouse press conference Tuesday highlighting what they called “a club no one wants to be in.”

“The system is so far behind,” Coder said of the state’s efforts to combat suicide.

Timed to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, the event comes during a spending cycle in which lawmakers funneled new resources into the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline but refrained from establishing a permanent funding source.

Between that and on-the-ground prevention and treatment options advocates say are lacking, plenty of policy work lies ahead for the foundation heading into both the lame duck period and the approaching Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget cycle.

“I’m grateful to Gov. DeWine for putting so much funding into mental health over the last few years,” Coder said. “But this next budget is going to be rough and we’re going to be really active in making sure our community mental health centers, that our hospitals, the folks who are doing the work out there really do get the resources they need to start approaching this problem.”

About 720,000 people die by suicide each year worldwide, Coder said, citing the World Health Organization. Nearly 50,000 of those are from the United States, giving the nation the 31st highest suicide rate out of the 183 countries measured. In Ohio, the Department of Health reported 1,797 lives lost to suicide in 2022 – or five a day.

At the same time, officials have deemed the initial years of the 988 hotline a success as it has grown from 7,000 calls and texts a month at the outset to 20,000 as of this summer, Coder said.

Lawmakers pumped a combined $46.5 million into the hotline in the current budget (HB 33 Tracked). As to permanent funding options, Coder said he continues to urge policymakers to dip into recreational marijuana tax revenue for that purpose, which he acknowledged remains a “contentious subject” between the two chambers. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, July 16, 2024)

The foundation also maintains its support for a 25-cent fee on phone bills – similar to 911’s existing 40-cent fee – to support the hotline.

Coder said the hotline’s performance remains impressive considering nearly two-thirds of Ohioans do not know the resource exists.

“We need to make sure, just like 911, everybody knows…that folks have access to care when they need it,” Coder said.

Coder was flanked by family members who have lost loved ones to suicide, driving the statistics home. They included Donna and Jeff Heck, who lost their daughter at age 33 after a lifelong battle with depression.

“How many people can carry their daughter’s obituary?” Donna asked. “It’s horrible.”

“Jeff and I learned so many things and a few of the things that we have learned is just because someone’s smiling it doesn’t mean they’re OK.”

Sandy Williams, describing the death of her father shortly before his 75th birthday, said it is not just parents being impacted. In Ohio, 80% of those who die by suicide are men, with those above 75 years old making up the highest number.

Chris Grant, who lost her 20-year-old daughter in 2022, said she felt ill-equipped to support Jada after she was released from a hospital for depression and anxiety.

“When she was discharged, sadly, our family, we were not given any sort of support,” she said. “We were not asked to a part of her care or aftercare and for me I think that is one issue that needs to be addressed.”

“Young people who are struggling with mental illness – they need advocates, they need support,” she said. “I would hope that being here today will somehow help OSPF and our legislators address ways that we can continue to support our young people and help them find a hope that they’re so desperately needed.”

Multiple speakers emphasized that one cannot judge someone’s inner struggles by their outward appearance. Dave Rife, president of the foundation’s board of directors, said his son, Matthew, was “a very vibrant and outgoing person,” but that his smile hid the turmoil inside.

“Mental health is nothing more than a disease,” Rife said. “If we treat it as a disease…people should feel comfortable asking for help and if people do feel comfortable asking for help then maybe, just maybe, the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation ends up working its way out of business some day.”