ADAMH Board Director Brad DeCamp details new initiatives to combat high male suicide rates and rising youth hopelessness revealed in recent Marion County health surveys.
BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—The Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board of Crawford and Marion Counties is intensifying its outreach following new survey data showing significant mental health struggles among local youth and high rates of suicide among men.
Brad DeCamp, Executive Director of the ADAMH Board, revealed that the recent “CLYDE” survey of over 3,000 Marion County students found that nearly 33% of youth reported feeling hopeless or sad almost every day for at least two weeks. Additionally, nearly 20% of students surveyed said they had seriously considered suicide within the past year.
DeCamp attributed some of these trends to the “unproductive” nature of social media and the long-term social remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to Marion County being identified as a top-10 “high burden” county for male suicide in Ohio, the board is launching targeted initiatives including “Man Therapy” and “Life Side Ohio,” a program focused on safe firearm storage to limit access to lethal means during crises.