If you feel that life isn’t worth living, remember, help is available.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners adopt a proclamation naming September as suicide prevention month in the hopes of helping individuals, who may feel suicide is the only answer to their problem, find the help and support they need to move away from the darkness.

In Pennsylvania, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 34 and the fourth leading cause of death for those aged 35 to 54.

In Carbon County, so far this year, 12 people have died by their own efforts, Coroner Mark Smith said.

“That may not seem like a big number in the grand scheme of things, but if you take that per capita to some of the larger areas, it’s very high,” Smith said. “We want to lower that and we want to do what we can and do whatever’s possible.”

Smith stood alongside Larissa Kimmel, system of care coordinator for Carbon-Monroe-Pike Mental Health/Developmental Services, who is helping to create a local outreach program to help families who suffered a loss of a loved one to suicide, as well as work to find ways to help those in need of services before it is too late.

“Suicide prevention is near and dear to my heart,” Kimmel said. “... We know something simple can save a person’s life in the county and we want to make sure that you are all aware of the efforts that we are making above and beyond.”

Kimmel pointed out that in Carbon County.

There is a county crisis hotline so if someone is struggling, they just need to call or text 988 and will be connected to a person to help talk them through the issues at hand.

There is also a walk-in center at St. Luke’s Lehighton campus, located in the former Gnaden Huetten hospital.

“If people are struggling and they need some mental health support, they can go to that location, meet with someone direct and then they will make sure that they have what is needed to continue with their journey,” she said.

There area also both public and private mental health services available and a new outreach program called LOSS, which stands for Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors, which aims to look at ways to identify warning signs and help those who have lost a loved one to suicide.

“We want to thank you for recognizing this topic,” Kimmel said. “We know that people struggle in silence, and we don’t want to that to happen anymore. We want to make sure people know where to go when they are struggling.”

She illustrated the point by talking about a person falling in a river near a waterfall.

“We need to get ahead of it, what was happening before they get to that waterfall. How are they falling into the water? Let’s get that net and keep them out so they don’t fall over that waterfall.”

Smith added that through this new partnership with MH/DS, his office is helping to potentially help others who are struggling.

“I feel part of our responsibility at the coroner’s office is to share these statistics and help prevent it from happening again,” he said.

For more help during a crisis, call the County Lifeline: 570-992-0879 or 1-800-849-1868 and for more information on services and resources, visit https://www.ccrinfo.org/carbon-monroe-and-pike-counties