Nick McWilliams reporting – The latest report from the Ohio Department of Health reflected a rise in suicides in 2021, following a two-year decline.
The Suicide Demographics and Trends 2021 report reflected an eight-percent increase, which was still below the 10-year average by 70 deaths.
Those trends are also reflected in local totals in Tuscarawas County.
With 1,766 such deaths reported, that works out to a rate of five Ohioans dying by suicide each day, and one youth dying every 34 hours.
In 2021, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among Ohioans between 10 and 34, and the 12th-leadimg cause in the state overall.
Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff called the recent data concerning, and said that while initiatives from Governor Mike DeWine related to suicide are a step in the right direction, more needs to be done.
Awareness campaigns have been launched to help educate on early warning signs, and more efforts are being made to remove stigma about the topic.
Locally, organizations such as Empower Tusc, the ADAMHS Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll County, the Tuscarawas County Family and Children First Council, OhioGuidestone, and more are working to identify effective strategies and improve the approach in preventing suicide deaths.
For more on the latest report, visit www.odh.ohio.gov.
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