R.G. Prevention Partners raising suicide awareness

Photo by Chelsea McNerney-Martinez Prevention Coalition members and supporters will wear suicide prevention shirts on the second and fourth Friday of every month, hoping to elevate the community’s awareness of the issue.

MONTE VISTA— Rio Grande Prevention Partners Community Board met last Tuesday, Feb. 5 in Monte Vista, where the Prevention Youth Council members distributed suicide prevention shirts to coalition members.
Youth members, led by Del Norte PYC students Daisah Atencio and Mayah Dominguez, designed the shirts. The students wanted to address the rise in rates of suicidal thoughts and completed suicides in the San Luis Valley, especially among youth and address the results of a Community Readiness Survey conducted in local school districts last year that showed Valley residents are still in a “denial/resistance” phase in awareness about youth suicide.
The students selected yellow as the official suicide prevention awareness color and to catch the attention of those who might see it. The shirts also feature the purple/teal suicide awareness ribbon with the prevention hotline number on it, as well as a quote from a popular song selected by the youth with the semicolon symbol to remind those struggling with suicidal thoughts “your story is not over.” Coalition member Jaime Hurtado printed the shirts.
Prevention Coalition members and supporters will be seen throughout the county wearing the shirts on the second and fourth Friday of every month, seeking to elevate the community’s awareness and better the community climate toward the issue of stopping suicide.  
If you’re interested in joining Rio Grande Prevention Partners in their mission of achieving “Healthy Children, Families, Schools, Communities and Cultures” or would like to join the awareness efforts, contact Nancy Molina at [email protected].


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