ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Over the past year, the Resilience and Hope Coalition has been working to address mental health and suicide prevention in our community.
It began when a group of stakeholders from Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties and the City of Martinsville came together to address mental health and suicide prevention awareness in their communities. Through discussions, they identified a goal to reduce risk factors for suicide and increase factors that protect people. The coalition, named Resilience and Hope, or RaH, was born.
In honor of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, RaH is partnering with area schools to launch and encourage community support starting this month. Their initiative, “Stay in the Game,” is planned at Franklin County High School and Ferrum College to encourage people experiencing mental health issues to reach out and speak out, and to provide support from both national and local behavioral health resources.
The “Keep the Game On” Mental Health Awareness/Suicide Prevention Event will be held at Franklin County High School on August 30th at 7pm and at Ferrum College on September 7th at 1pm (football) and 5pm (girls and boys soccer).
For more information about these events or the RaH Coalition, contact Kristi Norton at Piedmont Community Services at [email protected].
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