On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia voters will decide on the ballot in November whether or not to change the state’s constitution to prohibit medically assisted suicide, and a contested race for state Senate brought two candidates to the debate stage.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia voters will decide on the ballot in November whether or not to change the state’s constitution to prohibit medically assisted suicide.
And a contested race for state Senate brought two candidates to the debate stage in Shepherd Tuesday evening.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Maria Young produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
On this West Virginia Morning, a 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs indicated that veterans remain more likely to die by suicide than their civilian peers.
In the Eastern Panhandle, advocates say this requires new conversations on mental health. Jack Walker stopped by the Martinsburg VA Medical Center to learn more.
Also in this episode, storytelling and the arts can help build community and that’s just one of the goals of a popular FestivALL Charleston program. Recently Us & Them host Trey Kay joined other guests to explain what inspires them. We’ll hear an excerpt from the latest Us & Them episode.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Maria Young produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
In the United States, former military service members are more likely to die by suicide than their non-veteran peers.
While the number of suicides among veterans decreased in 2020, advocates in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle say keeping this momentum going requires new conversations about mental health.
Mark Mann serves as chief of staff for mental health services at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center. Before that, he served in the Vietnam War.
In working with veterans, Mann said he sees firsthand how societal stigma around discussing suicide can make it harder to seek help. For him, a first step toward better supporting veterans is being proactive in discussions about mental health.
“It’s about not being scared to ask the question when you see somebody struggling,” he said. “We know from the research and the literature and even folks that have survived very serious suicide attempts that if somebody had stopped and asked and took the time that it could have interrupted that.”
Raising awareness and understanding around suicide in the veteran community is what brings more than 600 people to the hospital campus every September.
On Wednesday, the facility hosted its eighth annual suicide prevention walk. The event began as an effort to honor those veterans who have died from suicide and raise awareness about the issue.
Each year, community members walk a loop around the facility to show veterans how many people are ready and willing to support their mental health needs. The event also features booths with informational resources and educational pamphlets.
Yul Song, chaplain at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, passes out merch and informational materials to an attendee at the suicide prevention walk Wednesday.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Jill Finkle, suicide prevention coordinator at the hopsital, organizes the event. She described it as a way to physically embody the network of support available.
“It’s part of that stigma reduction,” she said. “Addressing that and normalizing that we’re together, we’re connected.”
Mann, Finkle and the staff at the hospital also know addressing suicide among local veterans takes more than talk. The annual walk is just one part of the facility’s broader mental health programming, Finkle said.
The hospital also offers outpatient services, on-site therapy, residential mental health treatment and specialty services for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma and substance use disorder.
A recent surge in resources like these can be traced back to 2007, when the position of suicide prevention coordinator was created at every VA medical facility in the United States, Finkle said. Having a staff position dedicated to suicide prevention helped establish a more intentional approach to mental health care.
Expanding mental health resources for veterans in the Eastern Panhandle has also included out-of-facility, community-focused programming, according to Jennifer Kelley, community engagement and partnership coordinator at the hospital.
Not all veterans are willing to visit the hospital in person to access mental health services, Kelley said. But hosting less formal programming out in local towns can help establish networks of support for veterans to lean on. Recently, this has included coffee socials led and attended by veterans.
Individuals “who are volunteering their time, they’re connecting with each other,” she said. “They’re building social support networks with each other, and many of them are veterans.”
This year marks the eighth annual suicide prevention walk hosted by the Martinsburg VA Medical Center.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Addressing suicide among veterans has also meant looking at related mental health challenges that can harm veteran wellbeing, like substance use disorder, according to Brigit Kirwan, substance use disorder pharmacist at the hospital.
Kirwan said staff at the hospital often encourage patients to take small steps toward improving their situation, rather than making sweeping changes. This can be more sustainable and lay the groundwork for healthier habits, a practice known as “harm reduction,” she said.
This entails “small steps to meet patients where they’re at, what they’re comfortable with and reduce any type of harm,” she said. “Medication isn’t the only way.”
In recent years, there has been a national push to make veterans and the public at large aware of the suicide prevention resources available, Mann said. This includes the 2022 creation of a 988 suicide and crisis hotline.
By dialing the hotline, callers can get connected with support and mental health resources.
Mann said he hopes that the growing number of resources like these can strengthen mental health nationwide, especially among veterans.
But he also hopes to see barriers to accessing help reduced even further. It is why he and hundreds of members of the community gather on the grounds of the hospital every September.
“As a community, I think we really have to lean into that if we’re going to stop this,” he said. “Because it’s not just veterans.”
Attendees at Charleston’s Summit will spend the next three days learning from CIT-certified law enforcement officers and behavioral health professionals about improved communication methods, identifying mental health resources for those in crisis and ensuring officer and community safety.
This week, First Choice Services, a Charleston-based non-profit, is hosting a summit to discuss crisis care and mental health in West Virginia.
First Choice Services operates several helplines including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line, the tobacco quitline, 1-800-gambler and more.
The nonprofit began its second annual West Virginia 988 and Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, Summit in Charleston on Monday.
Sheila Moran is the Director of Marketing and Communication for First Choice Services.
“This is the West Virginia Crisis Intervention Team conference,” Moran said. “We have over 200 people here from all over the state, including first responders, law enforcement, behavioral health, decision-makers, and policymakers to learn a little bit more about the CIT program and how we can expand it statewide.”
Attendees include federal, state, and local officials, law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical service providers, advocates, mental health providers, substance use disorder professionals, criminal justice professionals and people who’ve experienced substance use, legal or mental health challenges, otherwise known as people with lived experience.
According to the American Psychological Association, nationally, at least 20 percent of police calls involve substance use or mental health crises and 65 percent of jail inmates report mental health concerns.
A CIT program can help officers respond with a community-based approach to improve the outcomes of these encounters. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, community-based approaches create connections between law enforcement, mental health providers, hospital emergency services and individuals with mental illness and their families.
Attendees at Charleston’s Summit will spend the next three days learning from CIT-certified law enforcement officers and behavioral health professionals about improved communication methods, identifying mental health resources for those in crisis and ensuring officer and community safety.
Moran said the West Virginia Crisis Intervention Team/988 Summit is a joint conference because the lifeline is such a vital tool in West Virginia’s mental health response.
“988 is a lifeline for anyone who’s in crisis or feeling suicidal,” Moran said. “We are a resource, not just for people who are in crisis, but also for first responders, law enforcement, always available 24/7 for anyone who needs to talk.”
The keynote speaker of the summit is William S. Thompson, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. He touted the 988 suicide and crisis line as an advancement in fighting the mental health crisis.
“The fact that we’re coming together for training like this, the 988 number, that is incredible, like a resource that’s underutilized in this state and needs to be utilized more,” Thompson said. “But the fact that somebody can dial three numbers and actually be connected for crisis help, that’s incredible.”
Moran said First Choice Services answered the National Suicide Lifeline for several years before the 988 program.
“When 988 came into being, we got funding for those things,” Moran said. “So it made a really big difference. And so now we have about 100 people at our office who work for either the West Virginia 988 program, or also the backup program. There are over 200 backup centers through the country that answer that line, so that when you call, it never goes to voicemail or busy.”
Moran said since the 988 program went into effect in West Virginia in 2022, calls have more than doubled.
“People sometimes hear that and think it’s bad news,” Moran said. “But indeed, it’s good because it means that people are reaching out for help. There are a lot of reasons for that. Obviously, the fact that 988 is a super easy phone number to remember is part of it.”
The summit will not only address how first responders react physically in a crisis but also mentally by addressing the mental health crisis among first responders.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, law enforcement and EMS have significantly elevated levels of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and are at higher risk for suicide.
Summit attendees will hear about evidence-based strategies to reduce these risks.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.
On this West Virginia Morning, Randy Yohe speaks with Dylan Oliveto, the founder of SCARS Support Services. SCARS stands for “shared compassion and resource services” – an organization to help first responders in times of personal crisis.
On this West Virginia Morning, faced with mounting suicides and PTSD rates, West Virginia first responders struggling with job-related mental health issues are taking matters into their own hands.
Randy Yohe speaks with Dylan Oliveto, the founder of SCARS Support Services. SCARS stands for “shared compassion and resource services” – an organization to help first responders in times of personal crisis.
Also, in this show, a Nitro elementary school teacher received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award. Emily Rice has more.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Eric Douglas produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
In a release, the DHHR outlined seven grant programs that will support various health initiatives across the state.
More than $33 million in federal funding was awarded to the Bureau for Behavioral Health (BBH) to enhance mental health and substance use prevention services for West Virginians.
Federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will support prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery services across the state.
“BBH and its partners are seizing every opportunity to meet our state’s behavioral health needs,” said Dawn Cottingham-Frohna, commissioner for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ (DHHR) Bureau for Behavioral Health. “With this funding, we are not only addressing the immediate needs of our communities but also investing in the long-term well-being of West Virginians.”
In a release, the DHHR outlined seven grant programs that will support various initiatives:
The Screening and Treatment for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders program will provide $750,000 annually for five years from the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand health care provider’s capacity to screen, assess, treat and refer pregnant and postpartum women for maternal mental health and Substance Use Disorder (SUD). BBH is partnering with the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership’s Drug Free Moms and Babies Project to implement the program.
The Children’s Mental Health Initiative will provide $3,000,000 annually for four years to provide resources to improve the mental health outcomes for children and youth up to age 21, who are at risk for, or have serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness and their families with connection to mobile crisis response and stabilization teams and other community-based behavioral health services through the 24/7 Children’s Crisis and Referral Line (844-HELP4WV).
The First Responders – Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grant will provide $800,000 annually for four years to build upon the Police and Peers program implemented by DHHR’s Office of Drug Control Policy. The activities will be administered by the Bluefield Police Department, Fayetteville Police Department, and the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center, Fayette County Health Department and Logan County Health Department.
The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness grant will distribute $300,000 annually for two years to support the system of care for adults in West Virginia and promote access to permanent housing and referral to mental health, substance abuse treatment and health care services. Grantees are located in areas of the state with the most need, based on the population of individuals experiencing homelessness, including the Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless, Prestera Center, Raleigh County Community Action, the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness and Westbrook Health Services.
The Promoting the Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care grant will provide $1,678,044 annually over five years to serve adults with serious mental illness who have co-occurring physical health conditions or chronic diseases and adults with SUD. Three provider partner agencies have been identified to work on this project including Seneca Health Services Inc., Southern Highlands Community Behavioral Health Center and United Summit Center, covering 16 counties in the state.
The Cooperative Agreements for States and Territories to Improve Local 988 Capacity will provide $1,251,440 annually for three years to enhance the capacity of West Virginia’s single 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline center, which is funded by BBH and operated by First Choice Services, to answer calls, chats and texts initiated in the state. In addition to this award, First Choice Services received $500,000 from Cooperative Agreements for 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Crisis Center Follow-Up Programs and a National Chat and Text Backup Center award from Vibrant Emotional Health to help answer overflow chats and texts from more than 200 local 988 centers nationwide.
The Behavioral Health Partnership for Early Diversion of Adults and Youth will provide $330,000 annually for five years to establish or expand programs that divert youth and young adults up to age 25 with mental illness or a co-occurring disorder from the criminal or juvenile justice system to community-based mental health and SUD services.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.
