Delta officials come together to prevent suicide

A wave of suicides in Delta County has brought local officials together and determined to understand why it's happening in their community.

 At least two of the recent suicides in Delta have been children. Law enforcement, school officials and mental health experts say they're doing their best to prevent this from taking place again.

 "We love our community" said Robert Thomas, police chief in the city of Delta.

 That's the message being sent from officials across Delta County following several recent suicides. Police, the Delta County School District, and mental health departments are working together help prevent future tragedy.

 "What prompted us obviously was to initiate a task force to understand why these two individuals committed suicide and also to bring some awareness in a proactive fashion", explained Thomas.

 It’s important that family and friends can recognize signs of depression and suicide. Mental health experts say that it could help save a life.

 "The signs you look for are somebody disconnecting from their social activities, maybe sports or their friends, giving away their things, saying goodbye" explained Robin Berndt, Suicide Prevention Coordinator at the Center for Mental Health.

 Officials in Delta County say they hope the task force will help them understand the problem but it can't be done without the help of the community.

 "We need the community to join forces with us and come together with us to try to help us with this issue. It’s not only a Delta County issue. It’s a national issue that we need to try to put our arms around and address" said Thomas.

 The formation of this task force is still in it’s preliminary stages. They plan to meet again within the next few weeks.

If you or someone you know is feeling depressed or suicidal, you can call the local suicide prevention hotline at 262-2660 or the national hotline at 800-273-TALK (8255).