Safe September

by Emily Vickerman, Family Mental Health Navigator

Kids are back in school, there’s a briskness in the breeze, and apples are everywhere. Surely, it’s September! Hopefully, we’ve adjusted to the shift in routines and the filling of our schedules as we get back into the swing of the school year. For many in our community, this season can also bring stress, worry, and challenges that aren’t as easily spotted as a pumpkin spice latte.

This is why Henderson County created Safe September, our local campaign combining Suicide Prevention Month and Substance Use Recovery Month. Safe September recognizes that mental health struggles and substance use disorder often go hand in hand, and bringing these conversations together helps us build a stronger, safer, more resilient community.

The truth is that many of us have been touched by suicide and addiction in some way, through others or our own lived experience. These aren’t issues “out there” that only happen to other people. They’re right here in our schools, workplaces, and homes. Safe September is Henderson County’s way of saying, you are not alone, and help is available.

Throughout the month, you’ll see resources and events happening across the county in partnership with the Henderson County Behavioral Health Coalition. We’ll be sharing resources, encouraging conversations, and offering practical tools that can save lives, including gun locks and Narcan. According to the CDC, firearms are involved in over half of all suicides nationally. Simple steps to reduce access to lethal means during a behavioral health crisis are proven interventions in suicide prevention. Narcan, which can reverse an opioid overdose, is another tool anyone in the community can use. The CDC estimates that it has already prevented around 10,000 overdose deaths. Small steps, like picking up a gun lock or carrying Narcan, can make a life-saving difference when someone’s in crisis.

At its core, Safe September is about breaking the stigma of silence around behavioral health. Too many people feel shame about struggling, whether it’s with thoughts of suicide or on their journey to recovery. That shame keeps folks silent, and that silence perpetuates the stigma of seeking help. The more we talk about mental health, suicide, and substance use, the more we remind each other that reaching out for help is a sign of courage.

This year, one of my favorite parts of Safe September is happening right at Children & Family Resource Center, with a project called “What I Needed to Hear When I Was Struggling”. We’re collecting anonymous messages that we’ll display for our team. These words may be as simple as “it’s okay to ask for help” or “this moment is not your whole story”, but sometimes, hearing that reminder at just the right time can plant a seed of hope.

What makes Henderson County’s approach unique is that it’s local, homegrown, and collaborative. Safe September isn’t just at CFRC, it’s in our schools, nonprofits, healthcare providers, and community members, who are all working together to remind folks that we can heal in connection with others.

Here’s the part I hope you’ll carry with you: prevention is not just for professionals. You don’t have to be a clinician or a counselor to support the people in your life. We can all learn to use harm reduction tools, reduce access to lethal means, share a kind word, or check in on a friend. We can save the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number in our phones and make sure our kids know it too. We can be the one to connect someone who is struggling to professional support.

As you see the Safe September events, social media posts, and yard signs, thanks to the Community Foundation of Henderson County, I invite you to take part. Stop by a resource table, learn the warning signs of suicide, or share a post with words of hope. And if you’re feeling like you are the one struggling right now, please hear our message: you are not alone.

Safe September lasts for 30 days, but the reminder that every life matters doesn’t end when the month is over. Together, we can continue to build a Henderson County where we can talk about hard things and where nobody has to walk through them in silence.

If you’re raising a teenager, you don’t have to do that alone either. Our new Circle of Parents: Teen Edition group meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month, with separate groups for adults to connect and for teens to build resiliency skills with our Mental Health Navigator. Visit www.childrenandfamily.org/family-support-programs/circle-of-parents to learn more.

And if you’re looking for support with mental health, thoughts of suicide, or substance use, but don’t know where to start, our Family Mental Health Navigation program is here to walk alongside you. Contact Emily Vickerman at 828-698-0674 ext. 158 or www.childrenandfamily.org/mentalhealth to learn more.