Thriving Mind South Florida staff and leadership attended the NAMI Miami-Dade event Saturday, March 4 on suicide prevention.

The event, called Honest Talk About Suicide and Messages of Hope, took place at the University of Miami Newman Alumni Hall.

Thriving Mind CEO and President John W. Newcomer, M.D., spoke at the event, as well as keynote speaker Kevin Hines, a survivor of suicide who speaks about recovery. Hines is the author of  “Cracked, Not Broken.”

Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 25-34 in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available. Researchers emphasize that reported suicides are likely undercounted. There is a suicide death in the US every 11 minutes and approximately 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness each year.

“We have to educate everyone about mental health, no matter their age or demographic. We believe the community will benefit from a half day conference to recognize the signs of suicide, what to do and where to go for help,” said Lisa LeSueur, NAMI Miami-Dade’s suicide prevention initiative coordinator.

All NAMI Miami-Dade programs are free – 36 support groups a month, QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) and Ending the Silence Presentations to individuals and companies to provide education about suicide and mental health issues. These programs are supported by Thriving Mind South Florida and the Florida Department of Children and Families.

For information on NAMI’s programs, go here.