With Mental Health Awareness month now underway, the focus intensifies on the growing mental health needs in the Mahoning Valley. Throughout the month of May, 21 News is committed to spotlighting the escalating needs for mental health support across all demographics and encouraging you to "Take the Moment."

Understanding the Scope of Mental Health Challenges

In a landscape marked by widespread anxiety and depression, a silent crisis is brewing.

"Biggest challenge we have is anxiety," April Caraway, Executive Director of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board said. "It's the third disorder that we treat for adults or kids in Trumbull County, depression is number one. Ever since 2020, People have struggled, they've struggled to come out of isolation and they've struggled with the fear and anxiety that I think the pandemic really instilled in all of us, long lasting effects about, you know, purpose, and what am I doing? Is my life fulfilling? Am I helping others? There are a lot of things people can do to figure out, why do they have the blues? And what can they do to get past them?"

"I think the whole country is in a situation where there's a lot of unchartered territory that people are just concerned with the economy, with what's going on, with a lot of the hate you see on television and the radio," Duane Piccarilli, Executive Director of the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board said. "People are just quick to react. I think we ought to step back, take a breath, and I just think the world is moving very fast."

"We've got a lot of concerns about just the dynamics we are seeing with youth," Marcy Patton, Executive Director of the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Board said. "Some of their isolation, some of their thinking and I think there are lots of reasons for that, you can't blame it on any one thing but you know, home situations, isolation, social media, less social interaction for some of the youth, just a lot of stressors for youth so I really am concerned about what I see coming up with some of the young people and the severity of some of the problems we are seeing."

One in five Ohioans grapple with profound mental health challenges and the Mahoning Valley is not immune.

"I think everyone needs to know that it impacts every family, and it impacts every person at some time in their lives," Caraway said. "If you are at the stage in your life where you need help, or you need counseling, because you're struggling to get out of bed in the morning, feeling unfulfilled, thinking about taking an extra drink that you normally didn't take, those are all signs to get some help and we have a lot of resources available and just remember it's a blip in your life. It's not forever, you can get past this."

"I think mental illness knows no discrimination, we see it in every demographic area, every ethnic group, everybody, men, women, young, old, it doesn't discriminate," Piccarilli said.

Alarming Trends in Mental Health and Suicide

Suicide rates reflect the pervasive feelings of fear and uncertainty, rising notably over the past year.

Mahoning County went from 44 in 2022 to 53 in 2023.

"Right now, our suicide numbers are growing for men at a rapid rate that we've never seen before," Piccarilli said. "We're talking people in their 60s and 70s, that there really isn't any trend and I don't know if it's the economy, you know, they may have had their pension affected. Many of them are veterans, you put on TV, you read the newspaper or the internet. Every day, there's a war somewhere, everyday there's a shooting and I think for the veterans, it's triggering."

Trumbull County saw an increase in suicides from 26 to 32 in 2023.

"We had an increase in young adults and adolescent age groups," Caraway said. "So, we're really trying to focus on getting intervention and prevention into the schools into the community groups, the churches to make sure that we're engaging people earlier so they don't get to that desperate point."

Meanwhile, in Columbiana County, suicide rates have stayed steady but the complexity of mental health issues has escalated.

"We're seeing much more complicated things especially related to trauma, various degrees of trauma and it just seems to be across all sectors of society," Patton said. "We're seeing kids, many more kids than we used to showing severe behaviors, emotional issues at much younger ages even to the point where kids are having to be placed in placements out of the home, out of the county, out of the state."

The rise in suicides has prompted Mahoning County to launch a new suicide prevention campaign.

"We have a call to action on men," Piccarilli said. "53 men took their lives last year, this year, we've had 14 deaths and 10 of them are men, older men. So, the call to action is for all of us to be aware. I think people tend to if a child is distraught or depressed or a teenager, they tend to to react quicker and move in but when an older man is they think, oh, it's a grumpy old man or he's having a bad day."

Workforce Challenges and Expanding Needs

Leaders in all three counties say uncertainty in the world and the pandemic have exacerbated mental health conditions, which in turn has magnified another critical issue: workforce shortages.

"Every one of my agencies could hire right now," Piccarilli said. "If 25 or 30 licensed counselors or social workers would knock on my door, I probably could get them placed tomorrow. It's just not licensed independent counselors, it's street outreach workers, it's medical records, it's crisis hotline workers, it's peer support workers. It's every level you can think of."

"There just aren't enough helpers in any of the fields right now and its not just mental health services but for us, it's the peers, the counselors, the medical professionals to provide medication for mental health issues, its case managers, so, every agency usually has openings at any given time," Patton said.

"It seems like all the agencies are always hiring," Caraway said. "So, workforce continues to be an issue and people don't want to work overnight shifts, and people need help overnight. So, getting those crisis teams filled with counselors, case managers who are willing to respond in an overnight crisis has been challenging."

Collaborative Efforts and Community Engagement

As these communities continue to face some daunting challenges, one of the key messages they want to convey is don't lose hope. They have a steadfast committment to reducing the stigma associated with seeking help while at the same time emphasizing collaboration and community involvement.

"One of the tools we're using is QPR, which is Question, Persuade, and Refer," Piccarilli said. "The reason I mention that is, it's a 90 minute very quick training that we can teach anyone. We can teach people from the street department, people that work at Animal Control, people that work in schools, so they'll become our gatekeepers. The problems have become so overwhelming and our workforce has shrunk so much that we got to train the community. What are the warning signs? How do you how do you ask for help? It's way too much for us to handle. So, we're sort of becoming the experts and we're counting on the community to kind of be the referrals and to kind of help us."

"For me, one of the biggest messages is the need for us to partner and work together," Patton said. "That is one of the things I'm seeing some positives in through the last five years since we've been through pandemics and through train derailments in Columbiana County and things, there is some effort for people to work together more because I think we are realizing with our limited resources and with our limited workforce, there is not any one of us who can do it alone. I think that being said though, we need to get better there because there is still too many silos, there's still too many places where we are not always working in partnership and that very old saying, it takes a village to raise a child, to me it's beyond raising a child, it has to do with our communities, helping our communities heal, we all play a part in that and everybody's kind of got to help people, kind of work together. There are different paths to healing for people and so we all kind of have to walk along people on that path and help them get as far as we can and then maybe we pass it off to somebody else or someone else kind of takes over but there is just that need for that collaboration, working together and I don't think we are going to get there unless we can get to that mindset."

"There are a lot of resources available in our Valley," Caraway said. "We have a ton of community agencies, we have peer support groups, we have helplines, we have the 9-8-8 line if someone's suicidal, there is help available. If people don't know where to get the help, all they have to do is call 2-1-1. And they will steer them in the right direction but until we reduce the stigma down, so that everyone knows, helps available for me, helps available when I need it. And I don't have to be ashamed to get it. We're going to continue to be in a crisis."

If you or someone you know is struggling, call 2-1-1 for information on how to get help. If someone is suicidal or in a crisis, call 9-8-8.