September 4, 2025 • 29 mins
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Stephanie Pasternak, the director of State affairs with the National Alliance on Mental Illness talks about the 988 hotline. Michael F. Lamma EVP with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention talks about the Out of the Darkness walks. Then Dan Gluckman the Senior Director of Policy for the International Safety Equipment Association talks about the importance of having access to certified respirators.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Nine eight is the number that saves lives and I'm
about to tell you why.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
It's Job Mounts and this is Viewpoint Alabama on the
Alabama Radio Network. In September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month,
and coming up later this week is on the eighth,
nine to eight. We're reminding everyone about the importance of
the nine to eight to eight Suicide Prevention Hotline. Join
me now to talk about this is Stephanie Pasternak. She's
the National Alliance on Mental Illness or NAMI, Director of
(00:27):
State Affairs. Stephanie, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thank you, John, so happy to be here. So, as
you mentioned, I'm with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness,
and for folks who don't know, we're a nonprofit that
is available across the country dedicated to supporting people with
mental health conditions and their families. And I'm here today
to talk about the ninety eight Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
(00:51):
So that's our national mental health and suicide prevention hotline.
You know, we know mental illness and suicide impacts everyone
and I just want to share more information on this
life saving resource.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Well that's a good question. Uh, why is it because
here in America, we think we're the Land of the free.
We have plenty of stuff. And yet for all of
what we have, the riches that America has, this issue
of suicide. It crosses socioeconomic boundaries. It affects all ages,
all racists, men and women, affects everybody. Why is it
that it seems that we're in what should be a
(01:25):
very happy place. We seems like we're all so unhappy.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Data does show that we're in a national mental health crisis,
especially with our youth. Mental illness is actually, you know,
fairly common. You know what it affects one in for people,
Thoughts of suicide or common too, especially as I mentioned,
among youth, about one in ten youth ages twelve to
(01:50):
seventeen have had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year.
And you know, just with these conditions being really common
and there's a lot of stressors out there, folks need
to kind of know where to turn for help. And
we want people to know that nine eight eight is
a place that they can turn to.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
And that's a jumping off point to be able to
make that phone call. But for a lot of people
there needs to be additional steps because one phone call
doesn't solve all the problems, but I imagine that once
you call that number, they availue of other resources in
your community and beyond where people are able to get help.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Right.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yes, absolutely, So when someone calls nine eight eight, you
can also text or chat online with nine eight eight,
you are actually connected to a trained crisis counselor who
is local to your community. So they're going to listen,
help identify supports, help you come up with a plan
for what to do next, and they'll be familiar with
(02:50):
the mental health and substance use resources in your area,
help you get connected to those. And also community are
building out more of those in person crisis services attached
to ninety eight as well, so for folks that, like
you mentioned, that may need more support, communities are now
(03:11):
building mobile crisis teams where mental health professionals can actually
come to someone's location when they're in crisis. And also
what in Alabama I know are crisis stabilization units, and
so these are sort of walk in mental health crisis
centers where you can see mental health professionals and get
(03:32):
initial treatment.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
And all this sounds like it's wonderful but very expensive.
How is is these How are these things actually funded?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Ninety eight has actually received a lot of bipartisan support.
It was created by an Act of Congress in twenty twenty,
so the federal government has funded this. States have also
stepped up to the plate to fund ninety eight eight.
(04:02):
It is a national number, but it is administered state
by state, and so we've seen really robust funding across
the board, and that's really led to this massive expansion
of mental health support being available. Since ninety eight eight
actually went live about three years ago, sixteen point five
(04:25):
million contacts have been made to it.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
And I guess Stephanie, you don't have any numbers of
how many people have been have been served, but you
said that with that many contacts, I'm sure that means
that a lot of people have been helped in I
guess one of those things is when you're successful at this,
you don't know how many of these sort of tragic
episodes that you have prevented. But at least we can
(04:49):
maybe see a downtick in the numbers of people who
are having these suicide episodes, because I know that everybody's
been touched by it. There are so many people who
who know somebody or maybe somebody very close in their
lives have been lost to it. Can you talk to
me about the impact that it has had and continues
(05:11):
to have.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Absolutely, there have been studies on the effectiveness of the
nine eight eight lifeline and people who have used it
and have said, you know that it has prevented them
from attempting suicide. Also at NAMI, and I should clarify
at NAMI, we do not operate ninety eight eight. That's
(05:33):
run by the federal government, but we are big advocates
for ninety eight eight. But we have also polled people
who have contacted ninety eight and found that seventy one
percent of folks said that they got some or all
of the help they needed. Of course, we'd like to
see that number even higher, but it's good to know
that the vast majority of people that are reaching out
(05:55):
are finding the help that they're looking for.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Stephanie, can you talk about the signs of suicidal ideation?
In other words, you know somebody who is one thing,
if somebody's having a bad day and they feel, you know,
so to speak, blue, But there are people where it's
not a bad day or a bad week, but they're
just they're having a bad time and they're considering possibly
taking that next very lethal, dangerous step. And how do
(06:18):
you identify one of those people? Number one? And number two?
What do you do once you have identified one of
those people?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, so you'll see people withdraw you know, from friends, family,
things that they used to enjoy. You'll hear folks express hopelessness.
I would also say in general, you know, if you know,
we all know our friends and family members best and
(06:46):
will be the first to kind of pick up on
those emotional or behavioral or even you know, physical changes.
You know, people may may stop eating or start eating
a lot more. They may kind of relax with personal hygiene.
Their sleep may change, you know, if they were a
(07:08):
quiet person, they might be hostile or vice versa. So
those are some of the warning signs. And that's one
of the great things about ninety eight though, is if
you happen to be noticing that for someone you care about,
you can actually also call ninety eight. You don't have
to call ninety eight specifically for yourself. If you're concerned
(07:31):
about someone else, you can call and talk to a
crisis counselor who will help you navigate that situation. For
someone else as well.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So in other words, you don't have to be the
one seeking the help. You actually could find you could
reach out to them and get them to maybe give
you the steps, give you a few of the resources.
Not that you want to make yourself into an amateur
armchair psychologist, but at least give you the resources to
help aid that person, to guide that person to someone
who can help them to prevent a tragic outcome.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Exactly exactly, they're going to give you the tips and
guidance that will, you know, empower you to help help
your your friend, or your or your family member and
ultimately get them connected to more support.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Stephanie, I want to thank you so much for coming
on and talking with us about all of this. If
people want more information about what you do with NAMI,
where is the is there a website and what kind
of things can we expect to find on that website?
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yes, yes, that's easy. You can find everything you need
on our website at NAMI dot org slash ninety eight eight.
So that's n A M I dot O r G
slash ninety eight eight, and that's where you can find
a lot of information about what to what to expect
when you call nine eight eight, how you can support
(08:49):
ninety eight eight, how you can spread the word, and
you know commonly asked questions as well.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Stephanie Pastrinek, the director of State Affairs for the Nation
Alliance on Mental Illness or ANAMI, thank you so much
for joining us this week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
September is suicide prevention month and more than forty nine
thousand lives are lost to suicide each year in the
United States alone, and you're listening to Viewpoint Alabama on
the Alabama Radio Network. My name is John Mounts, and
we're speaking with some experts about suicide prevention. Suicide has
made a profound impact on families, leaving many to navigate
(09:26):
grief while facing the stigma that too often surrounds mental health.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention works to help people
better understand suicide and give them tools to help others
in crisis to address this leading cause of death. And
joining me now is Michael F.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Lama.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
He is the executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer
for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Michael, Welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Thank you, it's good to be with you. Thanks for
the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Well, because this is Suicide Awareness Month, we are speaking
with multiple guests about this same topic, which we don't
normally do. But you've got a program called out of
the Darkness. These walks that you're doing, can you tell
me about the out of the Darkness walks?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Sure, happy to so. Our out of the Darkness walks
are designed to, as the name suggests, bring the issue
of suicide out of the darkness, to bring attention to
the issue of suicide and suicide prevention and taking care
of your mental health. It's a multi faceted event. First
(10:26):
of all, it's a fundraising event. It's our largest source
of revenue for the organization. There's no registration fee and
you don't aren't required to fundraise. We encourage you to fundraise.
It's pretty easy, much easier you might think. Send out
a few emails, make some social media posts. You'll be
surprised and how many people reach out and support you.
(10:48):
But whether you want a fundraise or just want to
attend the event, everybody's welcome and you can find the
closest walk to you on going to a f s
ped dot org forward slash Walks afsp dot org forward
Slash walks, and you enter your location and we'll tell
(11:09):
you all the walks within fifty miles of you. And
I would point out that we have multiple walks in
Alabama and our biggest walk in Alabama is in Birmingham
on November two.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Michael, one of the things about suicide is unlike it's
it's like a disease, it's.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
You know it.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Usually it's the result, the end result of a depression.
But unlike a lot of diseases where the symptoms are obvious,
there's a lot of people who are hurting and we
don't realize they're suffering so so terribly on the inside,
and we only find out when it's too late. But
there are certain signs that we especially if you're you
have a friend or a family member, that you should
(11:50):
be looking for in someone like this. What are some
of the warning signs?
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Well, you're exactly right. Before I get into the warning signs,
I want, we want what our objective is. We want
people to take their mental health as seriously as they
do physical health. And while we've made progress in that area,
there's still a lot of work to do. But some
things you should be looking at for if you have
a friend or family member. Are they change changing their behavior.
(12:15):
Are they talking about feeling hopeless or that they that
they're a burden? Uh, that their moods change, that they're
they're showing depression or anxiety, a loss of interest in
the things that they love, changes in their behavior like
sleeping way more than they normally do or sleeping way
(12:37):
less than they normally do, abusing substances. So those are
all things that to keep an eye out for. So basically,
if you think someone doesn't seem themselves, you should have
a conversation with them, ask them how they're doing, you know,
how's everything going with you? You don't seem yourself? Everything okay?
(13:01):
And to strike up the conversation with them, and oftentimes
just that act of having the conversation will help them
get past a moment crisis. But also keep in mind
that the first time you talk to them they may say, oh,
I'm fine, So keep following up, just checking in with
them again, just saying how are you doing? How you know,
(13:24):
is everything okay? Do you want to talk? And then
if you think someone is in crisis, definitely connect them
to the nine eight eight crisis line and have them
contact them directly or you can contact them, contact nine
to eight on behalf of them to get information to
(13:46):
share with them.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Do we have any data in terms of the number
of people that have called nine to eight eight and
actually been able to receive help. I guess you'll never
know the successes. You only hear the numbers from the failures.
But how many people, roughly do they ask Tomate that
nine to eight line has helped over the last how
long has it been? About four or five years?
Speaker 3 (14:03):
There has been a hotline in existence for many years,
but several years ago we were able to pass the
creation of the nine eight eight hotline, and so that
it's so much easier than have to remember like a
one eight hundred number. You can just down nine eight eight,
(14:24):
just like you've down nine to one one if there
was a physical emergency. You know, as you said, it's
difficult for us to measure, you know, how many olives
we say. That's one of the frustrating things about our
work is it's hard to measure how many lives we
have saved. You know, we can only do that anecdotally.
But the crisis line serves over two million people a year.
It's definitely is an important resource and it's getting a
(14:47):
lot of utilization, and which I guess is a good
thing and a bad thing. A good thing and we
have that resource there, bad thing that so many people needed,
but it is there serving a need and we encourage
anyone you struggling, or if you have a friend or
family that are struggling, to contact non e days.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Statistically speaking, do we see any trends in terms of
the people who are committing suicide these days? Is it
trending younger male, more male than female? What was it
looking like the typical person who is at most at
risk to commit suicide?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Right? Well, first of all, we don't like to use
the term commit suicide. It's sort of a judgmental term.
Just like if somebody has a heart attack, you don't
say they committed a heart attack. So what we like
to say is that someone took their lives for they
died by suicide. But suicide affects all ages, and all
(15:46):
ethnic groups, and anybody at any socioeconomic level. In this country.
The highest risk groups are white, middle aged men, especially
in rural areas, Native Americans, and senior citizens, So those
(16:07):
are the highest risk groups, but there are certainly other
groups that are at risk as well.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
It sounds like the common thread there is people who
are alone, either by their own choice or just by
the circumstance. They happen to be in a place by themselves,
So it's easy for you to get inside your head
to start speaking to yourself. You're always your own worst critic,
and if you don't have somebody else to come beside
you and be not even so much a cheerleader, but
(16:34):
just give you some sort of companionship, that is what
leads a lot of people down the road that could
ultimately end in this situation.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
What are some of.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
The support programs available, especially in places that are rural
and stuff like that. I gather gather now with telemedicine,
there is a version of that for mental health too, right.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
That's correct where you know, I guess one of the
positives that come out of the COVID pandemic was that
everyone has gotten used to doing things virtually, so you know,
you can you can you can see a therapist virtually,
(17:16):
and you could see a psychiatrist. So definitely, that's definitely
something that makes it makes it easier to reach, especially
in some of these rural areas. We have a multitude
of programs available through the Foundation. One of our sort
of flagship education programs called Talk Saves Lives, which is
(17:39):
a program that educates the general public about the issue
of suicide, about mental health, and about recognizing warning signs
and steps to take if you see someone who is
you think is at risk. We also have a program
called Soul Shop, which for the faith community to educate
(17:59):
them more about about the issue of suicide. And then
we have a program for people who may have lost
someone to suicide. It's called Healing Conversations, where you are
matched up with someone who's further removed from their loss
and they've undergone training and it's not therapy or treatment,
(18:21):
it's simply someone who's traveled a similar journey to you
who shares information and support. That's just We have over
thirty five programs and if you go to our website
you can see more detail on all those.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Michael Lama he is the e VP and COO of
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Michael, thank you so much
for joining us, and again from more information on any
of the Out of the Darkness Walks or your organization,
the what's that website?
Speaker 3 (18:47):
One more time, it's a f sp dot org, af
sp dot org. That is that is our general website
has a wealth of information if you want to go
specifically through the walks page is assp dot org, forward
slash walks, afsp dot Forward, fsp dot org forward slash walk.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
And also once again that number should you think that
you need help, nine eight eight. Remember that number, like
you said, just like nine one one nine eight eight.
If you need help, that's the number to call and
they will be able to help you over the phone
in very quick order. Michael Wemma, thank you so much
for joining us this week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
My pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
You're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program from
the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Safe and effective respirators should be part of every industrial workplace.
I'm John Mounts and this week I'm talking with Dan Glaxman.
He's the senior director of Policy for the International Safety
Equipment Association. Dan, welcome to the show. The people of
Alabama who build our infrastructure and care for the sick
and keep our community safe, they deserve reliable and rigorously
tested protection for the job. That's the words of your organization.
(20:02):
Explain exactly what it is that you guys do and
why respirators are so important.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Sure, so at IA, the members are companies that design, test, manufacture,
and supply a wide range of personal protective equipment, including respirators,
and respirators are probably the one type of personal protective
equipment that is both approved by the sederal government and
(20:29):
then their use in workplaces is regulated. So the respirators
are approved by this little agency called NIOSH National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, and they make sure that
that respirators will work as intended and that the manufacturers
of these respirators are sort of up to snuff, so
(20:51):
that the millions respirator is going to be the same
quality as the one that was sent in for, you know,
for approval. Because it's so vital to a worker's health
and safety, NIOSH wants to make sure these devices are
going to work as intended. And what's happening what we've
seen is that the administration cut funding for all of
(21:16):
NIOSH in on April first, and we work pretty hard
to try to get the funding back so that staff
that NIOSH could continue to approve these respirators.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Now, so we all understand what we're talking about, we
say respirators. Are we talking about those things you see
like painters and that sort of thing playing In other words,
there's so like a mask, but they're a more aggress
aggressive mask where they really remove all of the particulate
matter and smoke and that sort of thing from the environment.
Or am I thinking of something else?
Speaker 5 (21:44):
No, that's exactly right. These are devices that are worn
by workers, whether it's as you said, someone doing the
paint spraying. Actually, firefighters use what we call self breathing apparatus,
and those are actually a form of a of a respirator,
(22:05):
and Niosh does approve those as well. And even the
some of the N ninety fives that we talked about
a few years ago, those are also approved by Niosh.
And that's those N ninety fives are kind of like
the most basic or simplest form of a respirator.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Now, last year, a manufacturing tragedy happened in Decatur, claiming
a supervisor's life when a ge appliance plant failed to
follow machinery safety protocols. This is the kind of oversight
that I guess these respirators com mitigate.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
Yeah, you know, and in that event, I mean that
speaks to overall of workplace safety. I know OSHA also
got involved to make sure that doesn't happen. Again, it's
along the same lines.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Yes, so the government is involved because they provide the
funding for the oversight of the manufacture of these devices.
Is there any concern I guess that. So the concern
is that without the oversight that the devices may fall
below certain standards.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
Yes, that's exactly right. We want to make sure. The
government wants to make sure that, uh, that these devices
will work as intended, that they need set government standards,
you know, for performance and sort of the ability to
filter out either hazardous particles or hazardous and toxic gases.
(23:28):
So there's the kind of a rigorous testing that goes on.
The NIOS staff also review the manufacturer's you know, quality
management plan, and NIOS staff or contractors will visit the
site to make sure the manufacturing processes are again are
up to snuff and be able to produce quality products.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Now, let me play Devil's advocate a little bit with
you here and see if you follow me. Is there
a reason why you say the uh, the person purchasing
the PP for their people, are they not able to
adequately discern what the level of quality of the equipment is.
Do they require a government agency, independent government agency for
(24:11):
oversight or is it a situation of there just that
there's no way to know without one of these organizations.
In other words, the industry can't self regulate itself.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
You know.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
It's a little bit of of all the above. One
thing that we have seen de paints the picture a
little bit. Recently, Niosh and and actually three M have
seen a number of filters on you know, for sale
on online marketplaces with filters that look exactly like an
(24:46):
authentic product, and a lot of the nomenclature is the same,
the look, the shape, the coloring, except that these aren't
official you know, three M respirators, and they're not proved
by Niosh. And when Niosh tested some of these, some
provided minimal amount of protection. And so these days it's
(25:10):
really easy to be fooled. There's some fraudsters out there
that are really good about making these knockoff products, and
so it is important to look for the Niosh logo
or the you know, statements saying nis it won't say
nice approved, but I'll have the Niosh logo and a
couple of key kind of indicator numbers, and so so
(25:35):
it's kind of everyone. Employers, especially their safety managers, need
to be extra especially cautious about where they're buying, and
it's best to stay inside the supply chain channel to
know you're getting authentic products.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
So you're saying, in other words, that could be counterfeit
stuff out there that is not really able to do
the job. And a lot of times the people who
are purchasing might not be aware that it is counterfeit.
Unto nill it's too late until it fails and causes
an injury for a worker.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
That's right counterfeit and sometimes just misrepresented or kind of
froad remark that it's NIASH approved.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
So if we're talking about the failure for funding, I
guess that funding is done by the by Congress, So
this would be something left up to our Congress to
allocate the money. So are there any particular representatives in
our state which we should address our concerns to.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Yeah, Alabama is actually lucky or maybe even blessed with
a great congressional delegation. Congressman Robert Adderholt from sort of
up NORTHLMD state. He is the chair of the committee
that funds niosh OSHA and also the Education Department, and
so he has in some ways some final say on
(26:52):
what NIOSH's funding level is and how much funding Niash's
respirat or approval program gets. So he's a real key player.
In addition, Representative Dale Strong is also on the House
Appropriations Committee, and he'll also have a say in how
much you know NIOSH and it's respirat or approval program receives.
(27:14):
And then finally, Katie Britt is also a leader on
the Senate Approach Committee, the Appropriations Committee that is, and
that allows her to have a say in what the
final funding numbers are.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And so based on all that, it sounds like we
have a lot of key lawmakers who are able to
affect this decision should we decide to Is there other
states that weigh as heavily or even more heavily than Alabama.
Speaker 5 (27:43):
No, so Alabama is then a really good spot for
federal funding decision making and influencing.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
And so when people approach their legislators with request what
is the level of funding? Because we could say fund
it more and they might say, well, it's already being
funded to a degree, So what level of funding do
they need. Are we talking like, say, fifty million dollars
fifty billion dollars? I don't even know the number. That
the the amount we're looking for here.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
Last year NIAS, the whole agency received about three hundred
and sixty million, and the operation that tests and certifies
the respirators received about twenty million. And so we're asking
for the same amount that NIOS received last year. So
level funding that will keep it running and doing the
(28:29):
job it does for Americans.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
It does sound like it makes a lot of sense
to keep our workers safe, and it would behoove us
too at least have the conversation with our lawmakers. Maybe
they have a good reason for why they because I
don't assume they make these decisions in the dark. I'm
assuming they're somewhat informed. So it's good that they know
our you know, our desires. Is also good for us
to understand what it is that they were thinking when
(28:51):
they made the decision to allocate what they allocate. So
I guess at least have the conversation, is what we're saying.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
That's exactly right, Dan, has.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Your organization already opened the communication channels with some of
our legislative delegation we've.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
Had the chance to speak with some of their staff
members and so but again, there's so many issues that
education on these topics is always needed and always welcomed.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Dan Blaxman, he is the senior director of the Policy
for the International Safety Equipment Association, Thank you so much
for joining us and bringing this to be honest, until
I opened the email a few minutes ago, I didn't
even know this was an issue. So it's great that
you're bringing it to our attention and helping to keep
our workers in this state and for that matter, of
this nation safe.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed on Viewpoint
Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management, or
advertisers of this station.
Nine eight is the number that saves lives and I'm
about to tell you why.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
It's Job Mounts and this is Viewpoint Alabama on the
Alabama Radio Network. In September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month,
and coming up later this week is on the eighth,
nine to eight. We're reminding everyone about the importance of
the nine to eight to eight Suicide Prevention Hotline. Join
me now to talk about this is Stephanie Pasternak. She's
the National Alliance on Mental Illness or NAMI, Director of
(00:27):
State Affairs. Stephanie, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thank you, John, so happy to be here. So, as
you mentioned, I'm with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness,
and for folks who don't know, we're a nonprofit that
is available across the country dedicated to supporting people with
mental health conditions and their families. And I'm here today
to talk about the ninety eight Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
(00:51):
So that's our national mental health and suicide prevention hotline.
You know, we know mental illness and suicide impacts everyone
and I just want to share more information on this
life saving resource.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Well that's a good question. Uh, why is it because
here in America, we think we're the Land of the free.
We have plenty of stuff. And yet for all of
what we have, the riches that America has, this issue
of suicide. It crosses socioeconomic boundaries. It affects all ages,
all racists, men and women, affects everybody. Why is it
that it seems that we're in what should be a
(01:25):
very happy place. We seems like we're all so unhappy.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Data does show that we're in a national mental health crisis,
especially with our youth. Mental illness is actually, you know,
fairly common. You know what it affects one in for people,
Thoughts of suicide or common too, especially as I mentioned,
among youth, about one in ten youth ages twelve to
(01:50):
seventeen have had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year.
And you know, just with these conditions being really common
and there's a lot of stressors out there, folks need
to kind of know where to turn for help. And
we want people to know that nine eight eight is
a place that they can turn to.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
And that's a jumping off point to be able to
make that phone call. But for a lot of people
there needs to be additional steps because one phone call
doesn't solve all the problems, but I imagine that once
you call that number, they availue of other resources in
your community and beyond where people are able to get help.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Right.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yes, absolutely, So when someone calls nine eight eight, you
can also text or chat online with nine eight eight,
you are actually connected to a trained crisis counselor who
is local to your community. So they're going to listen,
help identify supports, help you come up with a plan
for what to do next, and they'll be familiar with
(02:50):
the mental health and substance use resources in your area,
help you get connected to those. And also community are
building out more of those in person crisis services attached
to ninety eight as well, so for folks that, like
you mentioned, that may need more support, communities are now
(03:11):
building mobile crisis teams where mental health professionals can actually
come to someone's location when they're in crisis. And also
what in Alabama I know are crisis stabilization units, and
so these are sort of walk in mental health crisis
centers where you can see mental health professionals and get
(03:32):
initial treatment.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
And all this sounds like it's wonderful but very expensive.
How is is these How are these things actually funded?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Ninety eight has actually received a lot of bipartisan support.
It was created by an Act of Congress in twenty twenty,
so the federal government has funded this. States have also
stepped up to the plate to fund ninety eight eight.
(04:02):
It is a national number, but it is administered state
by state, and so we've seen really robust funding across
the board, and that's really led to this massive expansion
of mental health support being available. Since ninety eight eight
actually went live about three years ago, sixteen point five
(04:25):
million contacts have been made to it.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
And I guess Stephanie, you don't have any numbers of
how many people have been have been served, but you
said that with that many contacts, I'm sure that means
that a lot of people have been helped in I
guess one of those things is when you're successful at this,
you don't know how many of these sort of tragic
episodes that you have prevented. But at least we can
(04:49):
maybe see a downtick in the numbers of people who
are having these suicide episodes, because I know that everybody's
been touched by it. There are so many people who
who know somebody or maybe somebody very close in their
lives have been lost to it. Can you talk to
me about the impact that it has had and continues
(05:11):
to have.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Absolutely, there have been studies on the effectiveness of the
nine eight eight lifeline and people who have used it
and have said, you know that it has prevented them
from attempting suicide. Also at NAMI, and I should clarify
at NAMI, we do not operate ninety eight eight. That's
(05:33):
run by the federal government, but we are big advocates
for ninety eight eight. But we have also polled people
who have contacted ninety eight and found that seventy one
percent of folks said that they got some or all
of the help they needed. Of course, we'd like to
see that number even higher, but it's good to know
that the vast majority of people that are reaching out
(05:55):
are finding the help that they're looking for.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Stephanie, can you talk about the signs of suicidal ideation?
In other words, you know somebody who is one thing,
if somebody's having a bad day and they feel, you know,
so to speak, blue, But there are people where it's
not a bad day or a bad week, but they're
just they're having a bad time and they're considering possibly
taking that next very lethal, dangerous step. And how do
(06:18):
you identify one of those people? Number one? And number two?
What do you do once you have identified one of
those people?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, so you'll see people withdraw you know, from friends, family,
things that they used to enjoy. You'll hear folks express hopelessness.
I would also say in general, you know, if you know,
we all know our friends and family members best and
(06:46):
will be the first to kind of pick up on
those emotional or behavioral or even you know, physical changes.
You know, people may may stop eating or start eating
a lot more. They may kind of relax with personal hygiene.
Their sleep may change, you know, if they were a
(07:08):
quiet person, they might be hostile or vice versa. So
those are some of the warning signs. And that's one
of the great things about ninety eight though, is if
you happen to be noticing that for someone you care about,
you can actually also call ninety eight. You don't have
to call ninety eight specifically for yourself. If you're concerned
(07:31):
about someone else, you can call and talk to a
crisis counselor who will help you navigate that situation. For
someone else as well.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So in other words, you don't have to be the
one seeking the help. You actually could find you could
reach out to them and get them to maybe give
you the steps, give you a few of the resources.
Not that you want to make yourself into an amateur
armchair psychologist, but at least give you the resources to
help aid that person, to guide that person to someone
who can help them to prevent a tragic outcome.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Exactly exactly, they're going to give you the tips and
guidance that will, you know, empower you to help help
your your friend, or your or your family member and
ultimately get them connected to more support.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Stephanie, I want to thank you so much for coming
on and talking with us about all of this. If
people want more information about what you do with NAMI,
where is the is there a website and what kind
of things can we expect to find on that website?
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yes, yes, that's easy. You can find everything you need
on our website at NAMI dot org slash ninety eight eight.
So that's n A M I dot O r G
slash ninety eight eight, and that's where you can find
a lot of information about what to what to expect
when you call nine eight eight, how you can support
(08:49):
ninety eight eight, how you can spread the word, and
you know commonly asked questions as well.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Stephanie Pastrinek, the director of State Affairs for the Nation
Alliance on Mental Illness or ANAMI, thank you so much
for joining us this week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
September is suicide prevention month and more than forty nine
thousand lives are lost to suicide each year in the
United States alone, and you're listening to Viewpoint Alabama on
the Alabama Radio Network. My name is John Mounts, and
we're speaking with some experts about suicide prevention. Suicide has
made a profound impact on families, leaving many to navigate
(09:26):
grief while facing the stigma that too often surrounds mental health.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention works to help people
better understand suicide and give them tools to help others
in crisis to address this leading cause of death. And
joining me now is Michael F.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Lama.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
He is the executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer
for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Michael, Welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Thank you, it's good to be with you. Thanks for
the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Well, because this is Suicide Awareness Month, we are speaking
with multiple guests about this same topic, which we don't
normally do. But you've got a program called out of
the Darkness. These walks that you're doing, can you tell
me about the out of the Darkness walks?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Sure, happy to so. Our out of the Darkness walks
are designed to, as the name suggests, bring the issue
of suicide out of the darkness, to bring attention to
the issue of suicide and suicide prevention and taking care
of your mental health. It's a multi faceted event. First
(10:26):
of all, it's a fundraising event. It's our largest source
of revenue for the organization. There's no registration fee and
you don't aren't required to fundraise. We encourage you to fundraise.
It's pretty easy, much easier you might think. Send out
a few emails, make some social media posts. You'll be
surprised and how many people reach out and support you.
(10:48):
But whether you want a fundraise or just want to
attend the event, everybody's welcome and you can find the
closest walk to you on going to a f s
ped dot org forward slash Walks afsp dot org forward
Slash walks, and you enter your location and we'll tell
(11:09):
you all the walks within fifty miles of you. And
I would point out that we have multiple walks in
Alabama and our biggest walk in Alabama is in Birmingham
on November two.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Michael, one of the things about suicide is unlike it's
it's like a disease, it's.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
You know it.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Usually it's the result, the end result of a depression.
But unlike a lot of diseases where the symptoms are obvious,
there's a lot of people who are hurting and we
don't realize they're suffering so so terribly on the inside,
and we only find out when it's too late. But
there are certain signs that we especially if you're you
have a friend or a family member, that you should
(11:50):
be looking for in someone like this. What are some
of the warning signs?
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Well, you're exactly right. Before I get into the warning signs,
I want, we want what our objective is. We want
people to take their mental health as seriously as they
do physical health. And while we've made progress in that area,
there's still a lot of work to do. But some
things you should be looking at for if you have
a friend or family member. Are they change changing their behavior.
(12:15):
Are they talking about feeling hopeless or that they that
they're a burden? Uh, that their moods change, that they're
they're showing depression or anxiety, a loss of interest in
the things that they love, changes in their behavior like
sleeping way more than they normally do or sleeping way
(12:37):
less than they normally do, abusing substances. So those are
all things that to keep an eye out for. So basically,
if you think someone doesn't seem themselves, you should have
a conversation with them, ask them how they're doing, you know,
how's everything going with you? You don't seem yourself? Everything okay?
(13:01):
And to strike up the conversation with them, and oftentimes
just that act of having the conversation will help them
get past a moment crisis. But also keep in mind
that the first time you talk to them they may say, oh,
I'm fine, So keep following up, just checking in with
them again, just saying how are you doing? How you know,
(13:24):
is everything okay? Do you want to talk? And then
if you think someone is in crisis, definitely connect them
to the nine eight eight crisis line and have them
contact them directly or you can contact them, contact nine
to eight on behalf of them to get information to
(13:46):
share with them.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Do we have any data in terms of the number
of people that have called nine to eight eight and
actually been able to receive help. I guess you'll never
know the successes. You only hear the numbers from the failures.
But how many people, roughly do they ask Tomate that
nine to eight line has helped over the last how
long has it been? About four or five years?
Speaker 3 (14:03):
There has been a hotline in existence for many years,
but several years ago we were able to pass the
creation of the nine eight eight hotline, and so that
it's so much easier than have to remember like a
one eight hundred number. You can just down nine eight eight,
(14:24):
just like you've down nine to one one if there
was a physical emergency. You know, as you said, it's
difficult for us to measure, you know, how many olives
we say. That's one of the frustrating things about our
work is it's hard to measure how many lives we
have saved. You know, we can only do that anecdotally.
But the crisis line serves over two million people a year.
It's definitely is an important resource and it's getting a
(14:47):
lot of utilization, and which I guess is a good
thing and a bad thing. A good thing and we
have that resource there, bad thing that so many people needed,
but it is there serving a need and we encourage
anyone you struggling, or if you have a friend or
family that are struggling, to contact non e days.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Statistically speaking, do we see any trends in terms of
the people who are committing suicide these days? Is it
trending younger male, more male than female? What was it
looking like the typical person who is at most at
risk to commit suicide?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Right? Well, first of all, we don't like to use
the term commit suicide. It's sort of a judgmental term.
Just like if somebody has a heart attack, you don't
say they committed a heart attack. So what we like
to say is that someone took their lives for they
died by suicide. But suicide affects all ages, and all
(15:46):
ethnic groups, and anybody at any socioeconomic level. In this country.
The highest risk groups are white, middle aged men, especially
in rural areas, Native Americans, and senior citizens, So those
(16:07):
are the highest risk groups, but there are certainly other
groups that are at risk as well.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
It sounds like the common thread there is people who
are alone, either by their own choice or just by
the circumstance. They happen to be in a place by themselves,
So it's easy for you to get inside your head
to start speaking to yourself. You're always your own worst critic,
and if you don't have somebody else to come beside
you and be not even so much a cheerleader, but
(16:34):
just give you some sort of companionship, that is what
leads a lot of people down the road that could
ultimately end in this situation.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
What are some of.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
The support programs available, especially in places that are rural
and stuff like that. I gather gather now with telemedicine,
there is a version of that for mental health too, right.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
That's correct where you know, I guess one of the
positives that come out of the COVID pandemic was that
everyone has gotten used to doing things virtually, so you know,
you can you can you can see a therapist virtually,
(17:16):
and you could see a psychiatrist. So definitely, that's definitely
something that makes it makes it easier to reach, especially
in some of these rural areas. We have a multitude
of programs available through the Foundation. One of our sort
of flagship education programs called Talk Saves Lives, which is
(17:39):
a program that educates the general public about the issue
of suicide, about mental health, and about recognizing warning signs
and steps to take if you see someone who is
you think is at risk. We also have a program
called Soul Shop, which for the faith community to educate
(17:59):
them more about about the issue of suicide. And then
we have a program for people who may have lost
someone to suicide. It's called Healing Conversations, where you are
matched up with someone who's further removed from their loss
and they've undergone training and it's not therapy or treatment,
(18:21):
it's simply someone who's traveled a similar journey to you
who shares information and support. That's just We have over
thirty five programs and if you go to our website
you can see more detail on all those.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Michael Lama he is the e VP and COO of
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Michael, thank you so much
for joining us, and again from more information on any
of the Out of the Darkness Walks or your organization,
the what's that website?
Speaker 3 (18:47):
One more time, it's a f sp dot org, af
sp dot org. That is that is our general website
has a wealth of information if you want to go
specifically through the walks page is assp dot org, forward
slash walks, afsp dot Forward, fsp dot org forward slash walk.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
And also once again that number should you think that
you need help, nine eight eight. Remember that number, like
you said, just like nine one one nine eight eight.
If you need help, that's the number to call and
they will be able to help you over the phone
in very quick order. Michael Wemma, thank you so much
for joining us this week on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
My pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
You're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program from
the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Safe and effective respirators should be part of every industrial workplace.
I'm John Mounts and this week I'm talking with Dan Glaxman.
He's the senior director of Policy for the International Safety
Equipment Association. Dan, welcome to the show. The people of
Alabama who build our infrastructure and care for the sick
and keep our community safe, they deserve reliable and rigorously
tested protection for the job. That's the words of your organization.
(20:02):
Explain exactly what it is that you guys do and
why respirators are so important.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Sure, so at IA, the members are companies that design, test, manufacture,
and supply a wide range of personal protective equipment, including respirators,
and respirators are probably the one type of personal protective
equipment that is both approved by the sederal government and
(20:29):
then their use in workplaces is regulated. So the respirators
are approved by this little agency called NIOSH National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, and they make sure that
that respirators will work as intended and that the manufacturers
of these respirators are sort of up to snuff, so
(20:51):
that the millions respirator is going to be the same
quality as the one that was sent in for, you know,
for approval. Because it's so vital to a worker's health
and safety, NIOSH wants to make sure these devices are
going to work as intended. And what's happening what we've
seen is that the administration cut funding for all of
(21:16):
NIOSH in on April first, and we work pretty hard
to try to get the funding back so that staff
that NIOSH could continue to approve these respirators.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Now, so we all understand what we're talking about, we
say respirators. Are we talking about those things you see
like painters and that sort of thing playing In other words,
there's so like a mask, but they're a more aggress
aggressive mask where they really remove all of the particulate
matter and smoke and that sort of thing from the environment.
Or am I thinking of something else?
Speaker 5 (21:44):
No, that's exactly right. These are devices that are worn
by workers, whether it's as you said, someone doing the
paint spraying. Actually, firefighters use what we call self breathing apparatus,
and those are actually a form of a of a respirator,
(22:05):
and Niosh does approve those as well. And even the
some of the N ninety fives that we talked about
a few years ago, those are also approved by Niosh.
And that's those N ninety fives are kind of like
the most basic or simplest form of a respirator.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Now, last year, a manufacturing tragedy happened in Decatur, claiming
a supervisor's life when a ge appliance plant failed to
follow machinery safety protocols. This is the kind of oversight
that I guess these respirators com mitigate.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
Yeah, you know, and in that event, I mean that
speaks to overall of workplace safety. I know OSHA also
got involved to make sure that doesn't happen. Again, it's
along the same lines.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Yes, so the government is involved because they provide the
funding for the oversight of the manufacture of these devices.
Is there any concern I guess that. So the concern
is that without the oversight that the devices may fall
below certain standards.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
Yes, that's exactly right. We want to make sure. The
government wants to make sure that, uh, that these devices
will work as intended, that they need set government standards,
you know, for performance and sort of the ability to
filter out either hazardous particles or hazardous and toxic gases.
(23:28):
So there's the kind of a rigorous testing that goes on.
The NIOS staff also review the manufacturer's you know, quality
management plan, and NIOS staff or contractors will visit the
site to make sure the manufacturing processes are again are
up to snuff and be able to produce quality products.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Now, let me play Devil's advocate a little bit with
you here and see if you follow me. Is there
a reason why you say the uh, the person purchasing
the PP for their people, are they not able to
adequately discern what the level of quality of the equipment is.
Do they require a government agency, independent government agency for
(24:11):
oversight or is it a situation of there just that
there's no way to know without one of these organizations.
In other words, the industry can't self regulate itself.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
You know.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
It's a little bit of of all the above. One
thing that we have seen de paints the picture a
little bit. Recently, Niosh and and actually three M have
seen a number of filters on you know, for sale
on online marketplaces with filters that look exactly like an
(24:46):
authentic product, and a lot of the nomenclature is the same,
the look, the shape, the coloring, except that these aren't
official you know, three M respirators, and they're not proved
by Niosh. And when Niosh tested some of these, some
provided minimal amount of protection. And so these days it's
(25:10):
really easy to be fooled. There's some fraudsters out there
that are really good about making these knockoff products, and
so it is important to look for the Niosh logo
or the you know, statements saying nis it won't say
nice approved, but I'll have the Niosh logo and a
couple of key kind of indicator numbers, and so so
(25:35):
it's kind of everyone. Employers, especially their safety managers, need
to be extra especially cautious about where they're buying, and
it's best to stay inside the supply chain channel to
know you're getting authentic products.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
So you're saying, in other words, that could be counterfeit
stuff out there that is not really able to do
the job. And a lot of times the people who
are purchasing might not be aware that it is counterfeit.
Unto nill it's too late until it fails and causes
an injury for a worker.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
That's right counterfeit and sometimes just misrepresented or kind of
froad remark that it's NIASH approved.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
So if we're talking about the failure for funding, I
guess that funding is done by the by Congress, So
this would be something left up to our Congress to
allocate the money. So are there any particular representatives in
our state which we should address our concerns to.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Yeah, Alabama is actually lucky or maybe even blessed with
a great congressional delegation. Congressman Robert Adderholt from sort of
up NORTHLMD state. He is the chair of the committee
that funds niosh OSHA and also the Education Department, and
so he has in some ways some final say on
(26:52):
what NIOSH's funding level is and how much funding Niash's
respirat or approval program gets. So he's a real key player.
In addition, Representative Dale Strong is also on the House
Appropriations Committee, and he'll also have a say in how
much you know NIOSH and it's respirat or approval program receives.
(27:14):
And then finally, Katie Britt is also a leader on
the Senate Approach Committee, the Appropriations Committee that is, and
that allows her to have a say in what the
final funding numbers are.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And so based on all that, it sounds like we
have a lot of key lawmakers who are able to
affect this decision should we decide to Is there other
states that weigh as heavily or even more heavily than Alabama.
Speaker 5 (27:43):
No, so Alabama is then a really good spot for
federal funding decision making and influencing.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
And so when people approach their legislators with request what
is the level of funding? Because we could say fund
it more and they might say, well, it's already being
funded to a degree, So what level of funding do
they need. Are we talking like, say, fifty million dollars
fifty billion dollars? I don't even know the number. That
the the amount we're looking for here.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
Last year NIAS, the whole agency received about three hundred
and sixty million, and the operation that tests and certifies
the respirators received about twenty million. And so we're asking
for the same amount that NIOS received last year. So
level funding that will keep it running and doing the
(28:29):
job it does for Americans.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
It does sound like it makes a lot of sense
to keep our workers safe, and it would behoove us
too at least have the conversation with our lawmakers. Maybe
they have a good reason for why they because I
don't assume they make these decisions in the dark. I'm
assuming they're somewhat informed. So it's good that they know
our you know, our desires. Is also good for us
to understand what it is that they were thinking when
(28:51):
they made the decision to allocate what they allocate. So
I guess at least have the conversation, is what we're saying.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
That's exactly right, Dan, has.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Your organization already opened the communication channels with some of
our legislative delegation we've.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
Had the chance to speak with some of their staff
members and so but again, there's so many issues that
education on these topics is always needed and always welcomed.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Dan Blaxman, he is the senior director of the Policy
for the International Safety Equipment Association, Thank you so much
for joining us and bringing this to be honest, until
I opened the email a few minutes ago, I didn't
even know this was an issue. So it's great that
you're bringing it to our attention and helping to keep
our workers in this state and for that matter, of
this nation safe.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed on Viewpoint
Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management, or
advertisers of this station.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com