May 11, 2024 • 29 mins
Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring Vic Armstrong, VP of Health Equity at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Vic Armstrong joins the show for Mental Health Awareness Month to discuss suicide trendlines in recent years, steps to prevent suicide, and its new ‘Talk Away the Dark’ campaign, empowering people to have brave conversations about mental health and suicide. Also, Christy Turlington Burns, Founder & President of Every Mother Counts, checks in for Mother’s Day Weekend to explain how her organization is working to make pregnancy and childbirth safe, respectful, and equitable for mothers worldwide.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you. This week, here's RyanGorman. Thanks so much for joining us
here on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm RyanGorman, and we have a few very
important conversations lined up for you.In a bit, we'll talk to an
organization supporting mothers across the country onthis Mother's Day weekend. But right now,
(00:21):
to get things started, let mebring in Vic Armstrong, vice President
of Health Equity at the American Foundationfor Suicide Prevention, who joins me for
Mental Health Awareness Month. Vick,thanks so much for coming on the show,
and let's begin with an overview ofthe work your organization does. Sure,
thank you for having me AFSP.First of all, we are an
organization whose mission is to save livesand bring hope to those impacted by suicide.
(00:46):
We actually started as kind of agrassroots movement from a FAMI that had
lost someone to suicide and wanted tomake sure no one else had to endure
the same thing. We've now grownto an organization that is the largest suicide
prevension and suicide suitside events and awarenessorganization in the nation. We're also the
(01:07):
world's largest private funder of suicide research. We have chapters in all fifty states,
including Washington, d C. AndPuerto Rico as well, and so
you can find resources in every state. You can connect with your local chapter,
and so we always have chapters whoare ready and willing to support whatever's
(01:30):
going on in their communities. Whenit comes to the numbers of suicides that
we're seeing here in the US,what has that looked like in recent years?
So we've seen an increase in suicide. We saw from twenty twenty one
to twenty twenty two, we sawabout a three percent increase, raising suicide
death to about fifty thousand for twentytwenty two, which is which is I
(01:51):
again, about a three percent increase. We're also seeing some targeted increases,
specifically in black and brown communities.So we are seeing some shifts in not
just the numbers of suicide, butreally the communities that are being impacted by
suicides. But while we know thatthese numbers are increasing and losing anyone to
suicide is you know, one deathis too many. We also recognize though
(02:15):
that we understand better today than wedid five ten years ago how to drill
down into communities, how to getupstream in our suicide prevention, how to
create resource that really resonate with peoplein the communities where they live, work,
play, and worship. And wealso understand better about how to engage
people in conversation, even people fromdifferent communities that may not have been communities
(02:38):
that have traditionally had a lot ofconversation around suicide. For example, grew
up in rural North Carolina and inthe community I grew up in it,
especially you know, being raised asa black male, I was always taught
that suicide was not something that impactedthe black community. We now know that's
not true. We see that oneof the fastest rising demographics is young black
(02:58):
people. So so we are learningmore now about how we need to engage
with communities. So even though wehave seen this increase, I think we
are a better positioned now that we'veever been in being able to address these
challenges. You mentioned black and browncommunities. I want to ask you about
two others that often come up duringthis discussion, veterans here in this country
(03:20):
and the LGBTQ plus community. Whatcan you tell us about that. Yeah,
we know that for the past severalyears, veterans suicides have hovered somewhere
around twenty per day, depending onthe estimates, a little bit more,
a little bit less. But wealso recognize that there are specific needs that
are unique to the veteran community,and so we do have resources that reach
(03:45):
out specifically to our veteran community,even when we know with our nine eight
eight crisis line, there is anoption where you can compress a few of
veterans for veteran resources, So weare creating more resources for the veteran community,
but we also recognize that that's anissue that needs to be addressed.
We've actually lost more veterans to suicidein the past ten years that we lost
(04:12):
total soldiers during the Vietnam War,which span twenty years. But we know
that it's an issue, and wethink about the LGBTQ plus community. We
know that for individuals and for youngpeople in particular, who identifies LGBTQ,
they're three times more likely to attemptsuicide five times more likely to die by
suicide. So again we recognize thosechallenges and it's not that there's anything inherently
(04:36):
wrong with people identify as LGBTQ plus, but the increase in suicide really is
a byproduct of a lot of thestigma that comes along with identifying LGBTQ plus
and a lot of the pressure thatsociety puts on young people identify as LGBTQ
plus. So again, we aremindful of those things and trying to create
(04:58):
resources that allow us to really reachinto specific communities. I'm Ryan Gorman and
for Mental Health Awareness Month, I'mjoined by Vick Armstrong, vice President of
Health Equity at the American Foundation forSuicide Prevention. You can learn more about
this organization and support the work theydo at AFSP dot org. When we
look at demographics, young people havebecome a major topic of conversation when it
(05:20):
comes to mental health. What arewe seeing with suicide numbers among younger people
in the US. I think oneof the trends that we're seeing is that
when we look at specifically black andbrown communities, whether we're talking to African
American, Hispanic AAPI community, orthe American community, we are seeing increases
(05:45):
espectly in young people in those areas. And so again, part of our
strategy is in looking at how dowe create resources they reach young people.
So we've had for example, ourprograms we partner with making the Stallion that
was an a campaign that was instrumentalin reaching a younger population and especially black
and brown individuals. And so we'rewe're making connections with resources and trying to
(06:12):
use mediums that speak directly to thosecommunities because we recognize that for a lot
of our young people are they arehurting, they are confused, and we
recognize that according to CDC data,young people are about seventy six percent of
them say they would rather talk toand that's that's you know, that's three
out of four would rather talk toappear they're experiencing crisis than talk to mental
(06:36):
health professional. So part of whatwe're doing too is trying to educate young
people on how to how to havethese conversations, how to create open dial
or how to normalize the conversation foryoung people. And there's an opportunity to
do that because for a lot ofour younger population, they are much more
open to having these conversations about mentalhealth than a lot of our older population
(06:57):
are who may have been raised duringa time when we did not have these
conversations openly. What do we seefrom social media, because that can so
often be a double edged sword.There have certainly been issues with social media
and the algorithms and suicidal content andthings like that, but that's also a
(07:18):
place where sometimes younger people can findothers like you were just alluding to,
to help get them through difficult periods. Have you at your organization looked into
the impact of social media, Well, social media, like a lot of
things, it has to be takinga moderation, so we recognize that there
(07:39):
are positives and that they're negatives,just like with other things. So we've
utilized social media as a resource toreach young people because we know that young
people are very active on social media. But we're also very mindful of how
you can create safe messaging, sowe try to create safe messaging resources.
We partnered with social media outlets,We've partnered with community grassroots messaging, trying
(08:03):
to help people understand how to communicatethings and also trying to help encourage people
that even on social media, ifyou hear someone or you see someone say
something or post something on social mediathat raises concerned to be able to also
to reach out to that personal connectthat person with help to be mindful of
those signs and risk factors. Butthe thing I think that we have to
(08:24):
be mindful of with social media isthat young people are accessing social media.
We know they are, and sowe just have to be mindful of how
do we as parents and people careabout them. How do we try to
help them and prepare them for thethings they may encounter on social media impact
their mental well being. That meansthat we try to keep the lines of
(08:46):
communication open with them to talk aboutwhat they're feeling. If they're experiencing bullying
online, we want to be ableto talk to them about that. We
want to be mindful of as muchas possible what our children are exposed to
with social media, and just tryingto create more opportunities for them to process
the things that they're hearing or seeingon social media that they may not emostly
(09:07):
be able to handle. I'm RyanGorman and for Mental Health Awareness Month,
I'm joined by Vick Armstrong, VicePresident of Health Equity at the American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention. You can learnmore and support this organization's work at AFSP
dot org. You're in the businessof preventing suicide, So are there commonalities
(09:28):
that we see among those who attemptsuicide, different triggers and things like that
that all of us who are lookingto support those friends and family members in
our lives who may be struggling withsomething things that we should watch out for.
Yeah, there are risk and warningsigns, and generally, if someone
is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you canoften see changes that will manifest themselves as
(09:54):
changes in behavior, changes in talk, or changes in mood, and so
we encourage people to be aware ofthose signs. Changes in talk may look
like someone who is openly saying Idon't want to be here anymore, I
don't want to live anymore. I'mjust tired, I'm tired of life,
or someone who actually says I'm thinkingabout suicide, and we always take talk
of suicide seriously. Changes in mood. Maybe you observe someone who's usually a
(10:20):
very upbeat, positive person and nowall of a sudden they just seem to
be depressed or nervous or anxious.That can be a warning sign. Or
the opposite, someone who's generally moresubdued and low key, and now all
of a sudden they seem elated.That could be someone who's decided that my
pain is going to end because I'mnot going to be here anymore. So
(10:41):
you want to look for those kindof changes in mood and then change in
behavior or when you see those outwardsigns that someone is going through something.
It maybe someone who's engaged in anymore risky behavior. It maybe increases in
drug and alcohol use. It couldbe someone who's googling information about about suicide
(11:01):
and how to die by suicide.So we encourage people to be mindful of
those signs, and then we alsotry to provide guidance for how to have
those conversations. So we have onour FSP website, I talk Away the
Dark campaign, which you can findat a FSP dot org slash talk Away
the Dark, and that talk Awaythe Dark campaign we depict a conversation with
(11:24):
someone who's experiencing suicidal thoughts, butthey're not opening up and not wanting to
talk about it, and so weillustrate how you recognize the warning signs,
how you have a caring conversation withthat person, and then how you connect
them to help. And the thingI love about that Talk Away the Dark
campaign is that it illustrates that youcan anyone can save a life, and
(11:46):
you can save a life simply bycreating social connection and asking clearly, concisely
are you thinking about killing yourself?And then the other thing that we also
have that same in that same spaceon the website is our Real Convo Guide,
and our Real Convo Guide offers stepby step twols for starting and continue
a conversation about mental health and suicide, how to talk about it, how
(12:09):
to reach out for help, andin our newest iteration I knew Real Convote
Guide, we're actually connecting people whenthey are hesitant. So how do you
how do you connect someone when theysay I don't want to go into therapy.
I've been in therapy before it wasn'thelpful. Or someone who says I
don't want to go on medication,or if I call someone talk to someone,
they're only going to put me inthe hospital. Then how do you
(12:31):
address those kind of concerns that kindof pushback. So we have those resources
on our website as well, andyou can find all that at AFSP dot
org slash talk Away with the Dark. I'm Ryan Gorman and for Mental Health
Awareness Month, I'm joined by VickArmstrong, vice president of Heald Equity at
the American Foundation for Suicide prevention.Are there certain major life events like relationship
(12:54):
issues, financial problems that can tendto become triggers, But what I'd say
is is number one, and Ioften show people the suicide itself is not
actually a disease. It's the worstpossible outcome of a combination of a lot
of very complex things, often includingmental health challenges. And what that means
is that oftentimes when a person reachesthat point of suicidality, we may see
(13:16):
the thing that kind of pushes thatperson, that may be the last straw
that pushes them over the edge,but we don't necessarily see all the underlying
things, all the underlying stressors thathave impacted them. So oftentimes the thing
that's most visible to us is thatlife stressor like someone going through a divorce,
like the depth of a spouse,like someone who's having financial problems.
(13:39):
But we know those things alone inof themselves don't usually push a person to
the point of suicidality unless there areother things going on with them. But
by all means, when you knowpeople are going through life changing events like
that, you do want to bemindful of the stressors that they're feeling.
You want to check on them tomake sure they're doing okay. But we
know that not everyone who goes througha divorce is going to be suicidal,
(14:00):
Not everyone who loses a spouse isgoing to be suicidal, But there could
be those things that accompanying other things, could lead that person to thinking that
it's just more than I could bearto just feel overwhelmed. How much has
the launch of the nine eighty eightcrisis hotline helped with all of this,
Well, we've seen an exponential increasein people actually calling for help, so
(14:24):
I think it's helped a great deal. There's still a lot of work that
we need to do on increasing awarenessaround ninety eight and helping people to know
how to access ninety eight. Andwe also have a lot of work to
do on making sure that we arecommunicating with communities that have not traditionally called
helplines crisis lines. A lot ofcommunities of color have not traditionally called nine
(14:46):
one one, for example, butnow we're trying and encourage them to call
ninety eight eight and help them tounderstand that ninety eight is a different number.
It's a number that's designed to connectwith their mental health response. So
oftentimes in how we're talking about andsocializing people to utilizing ninety eight eight.
(15:07):
It impacts different communities differently. Theother challenge I think with ninety eight and
ninety eight, to me is oneof the greatest one of the greatest things
that I think has come has comeabout in the mental health space in my
thirty years in working mental health.But ninety eight is also in the in
the early stages, so we stillhave a lot of work to do on
(15:30):
how we're creating those resources. Ninetyeight is really about giving people a number
to call, but it's also abouthaving someone to respond with their mental health
response and then connecting people the resources, and so we got a lot of
work to do in those spaces.But again, I think part of where
AFSP has a role there is innormalizing the conversation about mental health and suicide
(15:52):
so that people are more willing toaccess resources like nine eight eight, and
then also in helping people around themto recognize with someone that may be struggling,
because what you may be doing isencouraging a loved one to reach out
to ninety eight. And final questionfor you, what are different ways that
everyone can get involved with your organization? The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and
(16:15):
support the important work that you're doing. Oh, such a great question.
So I encourage folks go to ourwebsite FSP dot org. On our website,
first of all, you can finda local chapter in your area.
Find out where your local chapters are. There. There are resource on our
website for folks who may be lookingfor answers to how to have these conversations.
(16:37):
We do have our talk of withthe Dark campaign on the website.
We've got our real Convo guide onthe website. We also have information on
how you can connect with a WALKin your community, how you can connect
with other suicide loss envivors in yourcommunity to get that kind of social support,
how to get involved in supporting theresearch that we do at AFSP.
So by all means, go toa FSP dot or look at all the
(16:59):
different reas sources that we have there. And if you interested in connecting with
us, I encourage you to goto our website, find what you're interested
in, and we have more thanhappy to connect with you. And of
course if you're looking for help,they have that there as well. Again
AFSP dot org. That's a FSPdot org. Vic Armstrong vice president of
(17:22):
Health Equity at the American Foundation forSuicide Prevention with us for Mental Health Awareness
Month. Vick, I want tothank you so much for coming on the
show and for all the great workyou and your organization are doing. We
really appreciate it. Thank you forhaving me. All Right, I'm Ryan
Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities, andnow let me bring in my next guest
for Mother's Day weekend. I'm joinedby Christy Terlington Burns, founder and president
(17:42):
of Every Mother Counts, which youcan learn more about at Everymothercounts dot org.
Christy, thank you so much fortaking a few minutes to join us,
and let's start with an overview ofthe work your organization. Doesn't how
this organization first came about. Sure, thank you. It's great to be
here. I founded the organization backin twenty ten. I like to say
(18:03):
that I became a global maternal healthadvocate the day that I became a mother,
and that was actually in two thousandand three. I had a pretty
normal pregnancy and was really ready andexcited about this new role I was going
to be taking on, and hada great care and great options here in
New York City, and then atthe other side of delivering my daughter,
(18:29):
the unexpected happened, which is thatI experienced a postpartum hemorrhage, which is
one of the leading causes of maternalmortality in the world. And that experience,
coupled with my awareness in that momentof what was needed when things turn
on a dime, is what sortof led me to finding this organization.
(18:49):
We really work hard to not onlyinvest in community based programs and solutions right
the people who are meeting the mostmarginalized or historically a marginalized communities and trying
to meet them where they are andprovide really high quality and respectfully respectful maternity
care, and also to amplify thosemodels of care and the individuals providing it
(19:12):
in our storytelling and our filmmaking,as well as using those stories and those
models of care to help to shapeand influence policy and our advocacy work.
When we talk about maternal health,what all does that encompass? Gosh,
I mean, we're very much focusedon a specific time in a woman's reproductive
(19:33):
lives, you know, pregnancy,delivery, and a full year postpartum,
which has been the time period thatmany policy makers and advocates alike have worked
really hard to extend Medicaid coverage fora full year. Obviously, maternal health
starts way before one is in aposition to decide whether they will become a
(19:56):
mother. It's really important that womenand girls' health is in its optimum when
starting to think about those kinds ofthings and changes in our lives. It's
obviously a huge responsibility, but obviouslyalso a big economic commitment, and so
the better we can prepare and gointo that phase of our lives, the
(20:18):
more likely that we'll have a safeand healthy outcome. When you have a
relationship with a provider and are inthe healthcare system already, you are more
likely to sort of address any complicationsearlier on in the process and hopefully have
the you know, the access andability to be able to seek other kinds
(20:38):
of care should you need it.And so then postpartum it continues. Right
One of our grantee partners says thatpostpartum is forever, and I would agree.
Now that my kids are both adults, it doesn't end. You know,
when you become a mother or aparent, it's very hard to kind
of shut that switch off. Soour health is determined based on that experience.
(21:02):
Oftentimes it's our first interaction with ahealth care provider or a hospitalization,
and so there's just a lot atstake when we're thinking about bringing life into
the world. On this Mother's Dayweekend, I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by
the founder and president of Every MotherCounts, Christy Turlington Burns. You can
learn more about this organization and everyMothercounts dot org. I think a lot
(21:23):
of people listening would just assume thatthe United States is towards the top when
it comes to how countries deal withmaternal health. But there is a maternal
health crisis here in the US.Can you tell us a little bit about
that. Yes, yeah, theUS is one of very few countries,
(21:44):
developed countries, high resource countries witha rising maternal mortality rate. It is
more dangerous to give birth today thanit was a generation ago for moms,
particularly black and brown moms. Thereare you know, the risk is two
to three times hire for a blackand brown mother to become a mother in
this country. And there's only onereal thing at the root of that problem,
(22:08):
which is institutional racism and bias inour medical systems, which is keeping
people from seeking care in a moretimely way. We've been advocating on this
issue, trying to raise awareness ofthe black paternal health crisis in this country
for some time, but there hasbeen a significant amount of progress in the
last few years, particularly with theleadership and the establishment of the Black Paternal
(22:33):
Health Caucus, And today there area package, very comprehensive package of about
thirteen bills which are called collectively theMamnibus Act, that seek to address many
of the disparities and also you know, data collection and the things that we
need in order to be able toreally address these disparities. Well, and
(22:55):
that's one thing that I think isimportant to note. You're not just talking
about the problem with your organization Everymother AC counts. You're working on solutions.
So what are some of the solutionsthat are in that bill or just
that you're advocating for in general.Yeah, I mean, I think a
really important thing is the way thatwe the way we care for women right
when women feel seen and heard andlisten to, that builds confidence in the
(23:22):
mother or the birthing person at hand. That's such an important part when you
are interfacing with the medical system,right, being able to know your body
well enough to be able to askthe right questions and to have the guidance
about what questions to ask at whattime throughout a pregnancy and postpartum. This
is like a really important thing interms of just building relationship between patient provider
(23:45):
that I think again enhances the ultimateexperience of bringing life into the world.
Another really important thing is just reallyinvesting in community based providers, knowing that
not rebirth requires surgery or hospitalization,and so really thinking about how we can
best meet women and families where theyare, which is likely in the communities
(24:08):
that they live in. This isthe way that you know, doulas,
which are basically patient advocates or youknow, psychosocial support systems that really help
guide a mom through the process ifshe doesn't have other support systems in in
her in her world. And sowe really do a lot on you know,
(24:33):
making sure that doulas are more available, that they are affordable, but
also that there is coverage for thekinds of benefits that they bring to the
outcome of the pregnancy itself. Andthen midwise. Midwise are an incredibly effective
and low cost solution of women's healthcare. So, for example, I
(24:56):
had midwives deliver both my children ina New York City hospital birthing center.
And you know, midwives Duelas andObi Guyindes work together as a team so
that depending on how high of arisk your pregnancy, your situation might be,
you know, they're working and handingoff the patient or having that continuity
of care. So we advocate forcontinuity of care as well. And then
(25:18):
data collection has been so important.You know, for many, many decades,
there was not consistent reporting on maternalmortality in any state, you know,
let alone across the country, andnow there is, you know,
there is a maternal mortality Review boardin almost every city and state in the
country. With that review process whichlooks at each and every death and complication
(25:41):
that comes through a hospital system,there is more understanding and learning that we
can take into this conversation to addressthe needs at large. This has been
a huge thing. There's been recentreports to sort of questioning the data and
how how reliable the data is.But I think it's been a huge,
hugeccomplishment to be able to collect theamount of data that we have, and
(26:03):
there's still so much to be donein terms of really understanding what we have
access to now. As you've workedto raise awareness on this issue through your
organization and as a public figure yourself. What has the response been like,
how many mothers have come forward andhave told you that, you know,
this is an issue obviously that impactedthem, and having you and your organization
(26:27):
behind them has made a significant impact. It's really incredible. Actually, every
time that I speak to a newaudience or show one of the films that
we've made that we do a lotof storytelling and filmmaking to share some of
these challenges and solutions, audience memberscome up with either similar kinds of complications
or experiences or a lot of ouraudiences are also people that are stakeholders.
(26:52):
They're in the ecosystem of internal health, and they come and they say,
oh gosh, you know, I'vemyself treated a patient in a way that
I didn't realize was disrespectful. Ididn't realize that that was judgmental. I
didn't realize that that would push herout of the health system or make her
less trusting of my care, sotalentless. I mean, it's a conversation.
I think this is one of thoseissues that we all can relate to,
(27:15):
whether or not we've been through itourselves had a positive or negative experience,
we know someone who has. Andalso we all came into the world
one way or the other, rightand we all had a mother at some
time. So it's really one ofthose those issues that people when they know,
they say, what can I doand how can I help? And
really Every Mother Counts exists for thatvery reason. We have a lot of
(27:37):
information on our website, Everymothercounts dotorg. Again, we create films and
campaigns and social messaging which helps toyou know, unpack the various challenges and
can you know, mixed messages thatmight be out there. We do a
good job trying to like look atthe data, you know, digest the
data, break it down for peopleso that more of us can be a
(28:00):
part of the conversation and a partof those solutions that are needed. And
finally, what are some ways thateveryone can support the work every Mother Counts
is doing, especially on this Mother'sDay weekend, well Mother's Days of course,
our biggest campaign season of the year. We actually have a matching campaign
each year, and that's a greatopportunity for people who are feeling like they
(28:23):
want to support, want to payforward their own experiences a lot of mothers
don't necessarily want flowers and breakfast andbed. They would want to make sure
that another mother goes to this processand enters motherhood in the right way as
a healthy, strong woman who canthrive in motherhood. And so it's a
great way for people to donate andalso double your impact while doing it during
(28:48):
a match period of time. Also, we have a number of product partnerships
and there's a Mother's Day collection that'savailable on our website that has some really
lovely Mother's Day gifts, gifts thatget back. We really believe that the
gift of motherhood itself, you know, is the thing that we're celebrating this
year, and it truly is ifagain, you have the support systems in
(29:10):
place and are feeling your best.Christy Terlington Burns, founder and president of
Every mother Counts Again. You canlearn more and support their work at Everymothercounts
dot org. Christy, thank youso much for taking a few minutes to
come on the show. We reallyappreciate it. Thank you, my pleasure,
thank you for your help. AllRight, and that's going to do
it for this edition of iHeartRadio Communities. As we wrap things up, want
(29:32):
off our big thanks to all ofour guests, and of course to all
of you for listening. If youwant to hear previous episodes of the show,
we're on your iHeartRadio app. Justsearch for iHeartRadio Communities. I'm your
host, Ryan Gorman. We'll talkto you again real soon.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you. This week, here's RyanGorman. Thanks so much for joining us
here on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm RyanGorman, and we have a few very
important conversations lined up for you.In a bit, we'll talk to an
organization supporting mothers across the country onthis Mother's Day weekend. But right now,
(00:21):
to get things started, let mebring in Vic Armstrong, vice President
of Health Equity at the American Foundationfor Suicide Prevention, who joins me for
Mental Health Awareness Month. Vick,thanks so much for coming on the show,
and let's begin with an overview ofthe work your organization does. Sure,
thank you for having me AFSP.First of all, we are an
organization whose mission is to save livesand bring hope to those impacted by suicide.
(00:46):
We actually started as kind of agrassroots movement from a FAMI that had
lost someone to suicide and wanted tomake sure no one else had to endure
the same thing. We've now grownto an organization that is the largest suicide
prevension and suicide suitside events and awarenessorganization in the nation. We're also the
(01:07):
world's largest private funder of suicide research. We have chapters in all fifty states,
including Washington, d C. AndPuerto Rico as well, and so
you can find resources in every state. You can connect with your local chapter,
and so we always have chapters whoare ready and willing to support whatever's
(01:30):
going on in their communities. Whenit comes to the numbers of suicides that
we're seeing here in the US,what has that looked like in recent years?
So we've seen an increase in suicide. We saw from twenty twenty one
to twenty twenty two, we sawabout a three percent increase, raising suicide
death to about fifty thousand for twentytwenty two, which is which is I
(01:51):
again, about a three percent increase. We're also seeing some targeted increases,
specifically in black and brown communities.So we are seeing some shifts in not
just the numbers of suicide, butreally the communities that are being impacted by
suicides. But while we know thatthese numbers are increasing and losing anyone to
suicide is you know, one deathis too many. We also recognize though
(02:15):
that we understand better today than wedid five ten years ago how to drill
down into communities, how to getupstream in our suicide prevention, how to
create resource that really resonate with peoplein the communities where they live, work,
play, and worship. And wealso understand better about how to engage
people in conversation, even people fromdifferent communities that may not have been communities
(02:38):
that have traditionally had a lot ofconversation around suicide. For example, grew
up in rural North Carolina and inthe community I grew up in it,
especially you know, being raised asa black male, I was always taught
that suicide was not something that impactedthe black community. We now know that's
not true. We see that oneof the fastest rising demographics is young black
(02:58):
people. So so we are learningmore now about how we need to engage
with communities. So even though wehave seen this increase, I think we
are a better positioned now that we'veever been in being able to address these
challenges. You mentioned black and browncommunities. I want to ask you about
two others that often come up duringthis discussion, veterans here in this country
(03:20):
and the LGBTQ plus community. Whatcan you tell us about that. Yeah,
we know that for the past severalyears, veterans suicides have hovered somewhere
around twenty per day, depending onthe estimates, a little bit more,
a little bit less. But wealso recognize that there are specific needs that
are unique to the veteran community,and so we do have resources that reach
(03:45):
out specifically to our veteran community,even when we know with our nine eight
eight crisis line, there is anoption where you can compress a few of
veterans for veteran resources, So weare creating more resources for the veteran community,
but we also recognize that that's anissue that needs to be addressed.
We've actually lost more veterans to suicidein the past ten years that we lost
(04:12):
total soldiers during the Vietnam War,which span twenty years. But we know
that it's an issue, and wethink about the LGBTQ plus community. We
know that for individuals and for youngpeople in particular, who identifies LGBTQ,
they're three times more likely to attemptsuicide five times more likely to die by
suicide. So again we recognize thosechallenges and it's not that there's anything inherently
(04:36):
wrong with people identify as LGBTQ plus, but the increase in suicide really is
a byproduct of a lot of thestigma that comes along with identifying LGBTQ plus
and a lot of the pressure thatsociety puts on young people identify as LGBTQ
plus. So again, we aremindful of those things and trying to create
(04:58):
resources that allow us to really reachinto specific communities. I'm Ryan Gorman and
for Mental Health Awareness Month, I'mjoined by Vick Armstrong, vice President of
Health Equity at the American Foundation forSuicide Prevention. You can learn more about
this organization and support the work theydo at AFSP dot org. When we
look at demographics, young people havebecome a major topic of conversation when it
(05:20):
comes to mental health. What arewe seeing with suicide numbers among younger people
in the US. I think oneof the trends that we're seeing is that
when we look at specifically black andbrown communities, whether we're talking to African
American, Hispanic AAPI community, orthe American community, we are seeing increases
(05:45):
espectly in young people in those areas. And so again, part of our
strategy is in looking at how dowe create resources they reach young people.
So we've had for example, ourprograms we partner with making the Stallion that
was an a campaign that was instrumentalin reaching a younger population and especially black
and brown individuals. And so we'rewe're making connections with resources and trying to
(06:12):
use mediums that speak directly to thosecommunities because we recognize that for a lot
of our young people are they arehurting, they are confused, and we
recognize that according to CDC data,young people are about seventy six percent of
them say they would rather talk toand that's that's you know, that's three
out of four would rather talk toappear they're experiencing crisis than talk to mental
(06:36):
health professional. So part of whatwe're doing too is trying to educate young
people on how to how to havethese conversations, how to create open dial
or how to normalize the conversation foryoung people. And there's an opportunity to
do that because for a lot ofour younger population, they are much more
open to having these conversations about mentalhealth than a lot of our older population
(06:57):
are who may have been raised duringa time when we did not have these
conversations openly. What do we seefrom social media, because that can so
often be a double edged sword.There have certainly been issues with social media
and the algorithms and suicidal content andthings like that, but that's also a
(07:18):
place where sometimes younger people can findothers like you were just alluding to,
to help get them through difficult periods. Have you at your organization looked into
the impact of social media, Well, social media, like a lot of
things, it has to be takinga moderation, so we recognize that there
(07:39):
are positives and that they're negatives,just like with other things. So we've
utilized social media as a resource toreach young people because we know that young
people are very active on social media. But we're also very mindful of how
you can create safe messaging, sowe try to create safe messaging resources.
We partnered with social media outlets,We've partnered with community grassroots messaging, trying
(08:03):
to help people understand how to communicatethings and also trying to help encourage people
that even on social media, ifyou hear someone or you see someone say
something or post something on social mediathat raises concerned to be able to also
to reach out to that personal connectthat person with help to be mindful of
those signs and risk factors. Butthe thing I think that we have to
(08:24):
be mindful of with social media isthat young people are accessing social media.
We know they are, and sowe just have to be mindful of how
do we as parents and people careabout them. How do we try to
help them and prepare them for thethings they may encounter on social media impact
their mental well being. That meansthat we try to keep the lines of
(08:46):
communication open with them to talk aboutwhat they're feeling. If they're experiencing bullying
online, we want to be ableto talk to them about that. We
want to be mindful of as muchas possible what our children are exposed to
with social media, and just tryingto create more opportunities for them to process
the things that they're hearing or seeingon social media that they may not emostly
(09:07):
be able to handle. I'm RyanGorman and for Mental Health Awareness Month,
I'm joined by Vick Armstrong, VicePresident of Health Equity at the American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention. You can learnmore and support this organization's work at AFSP
dot org. You're in the businessof preventing suicide, So are there commonalities
(09:28):
that we see among those who attemptsuicide, different triggers and things like that
that all of us who are lookingto support those friends and family members in
our lives who may be struggling withsomething things that we should watch out for.
Yeah, there are risk and warningsigns, and generally, if someone
is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you canoften see changes that will manifest themselves as
(09:54):
changes in behavior, changes in talk, or changes in mood, and so
we encourage people to be aware ofthose signs. Changes in talk may look
like someone who is openly saying Idon't want to be here anymore, I
don't want to live anymore. I'mjust tired, I'm tired of life,
or someone who actually says I'm thinkingabout suicide, and we always take talk
of suicide seriously. Changes in mood. Maybe you observe someone who's usually a
(10:20):
very upbeat, positive person and nowall of a sudden they just seem to
be depressed or nervous or anxious.That can be a warning sign. Or
the opposite, someone who's generally moresubdued and low key, and now all
of a sudden they seem elated.That could be someone who's decided that my
pain is going to end because I'mnot going to be here anymore. So
(10:41):
you want to look for those kindof changes in mood and then change in
behavior or when you see those outwardsigns that someone is going through something.
It maybe someone who's engaged in anymore risky behavior. It maybe increases in
drug and alcohol use. It couldbe someone who's googling information about about suicide
(11:01):
and how to die by suicide.So we encourage people to be mindful of
those signs, and then we alsotry to provide guidance for how to have
those conversations. So we have onour FSP website, I talk Away the
Dark campaign, which you can findat a FSP dot org slash talk Away
the Dark, and that talk Awaythe Dark campaign we depict a conversation with
(11:24):
someone who's experiencing suicidal thoughts, butthey're not opening up and not wanting to
talk about it, and so weillustrate how you recognize the warning signs,
how you have a caring conversation withthat person, and then how you connect
them to help. And the thingI love about that Talk Away the Dark
campaign is that it illustrates that youcan anyone can save a life, and
(11:46):
you can save a life simply bycreating social connection and asking clearly, concisely
are you thinking about killing yourself?And then the other thing that we also
have that same in that same spaceon the website is our Real Convo Guide,
and our Real Convo Guide offers stepby step twols for starting and continue
a conversation about mental health and suicide, how to talk about it, how
(12:09):
to reach out for help, andin our newest iteration I knew Real Convote
Guide, we're actually connecting people whenthey are hesitant. So how do you
how do you connect someone when theysay I don't want to go into therapy.
I've been in therapy before it wasn'thelpful. Or someone who says I
don't want to go on medication,or if I call someone talk to someone,
they're only going to put me inthe hospital. Then how do you
(12:31):
address those kind of concerns that kindof pushback. So we have those resources
on our website as well, andyou can find all that at AFSP dot
org slash talk Away with the Dark. I'm Ryan Gorman and for Mental Health
Awareness Month, I'm joined by VickArmstrong, vice president of Heald Equity at
the American Foundation for Suicide prevention.Are there certain major life events like relationship
(12:54):
issues, financial problems that can tendto become triggers, But what I'd say
is is number one, and Ioften show people the suicide itself is not
actually a disease. It's the worstpossible outcome of a combination of a lot
of very complex things, often includingmental health challenges. And what that means
is that oftentimes when a person reachesthat point of suicidality, we may see
(13:16):
the thing that kind of pushes thatperson, that may be the last straw
that pushes them over the edge,but we don't necessarily see all the underlying
things, all the underlying stressors thathave impacted them. So oftentimes the thing
that's most visible to us is thatlife stressor like someone going through a divorce,
like the depth of a spouse,like someone who's having financial problems.
(13:39):
But we know those things alone inof themselves don't usually push a person to
the point of suicidality unless there areother things going on with them. But
by all means, when you knowpeople are going through life changing events like
that, you do want to bemindful of the stressors that they're feeling.
You want to check on them tomake sure they're doing okay. But we
know that not everyone who goes througha divorce is going to be suicidal,
(14:00):
Not everyone who loses a spouse isgoing to be suicidal, But there could
be those things that accompanying other things, could lead that person to thinking that
it's just more than I could bearto just feel overwhelmed. How much has
the launch of the nine eighty eightcrisis hotline helped with all of this,
Well, we've seen an exponential increasein people actually calling for help, so
(14:24):
I think it's helped a great deal. There's still a lot of work that
we need to do on increasing awarenessaround ninety eight and helping people to know
how to access ninety eight. Andwe also have a lot of work to
do on making sure that we arecommunicating with communities that have not traditionally called
helplines crisis lines. A lot ofcommunities of color have not traditionally called nine
(14:46):
one one, for example, butnow we're trying and encourage them to call
ninety eight eight and help them tounderstand that ninety eight is a different number.
It's a number that's designed to connectwith their mental health response. So
oftentimes in how we're talking about andsocializing people to utilizing ninety eight eight.
(15:07):
It impacts different communities differently. Theother challenge I think with ninety eight and
ninety eight, to me is oneof the greatest one of the greatest things
that I think has come has comeabout in the mental health space in my
thirty years in working mental health.But ninety eight is also in the in
the early stages, so we stillhave a lot of work to do on
(15:30):
how we're creating those resources. Ninetyeight is really about giving people a number
to call, but it's also abouthaving someone to respond with their mental health
response and then connecting people the resources, and so we got a lot of
work to do in those spaces.But again, I think part of where
AFSP has a role there is innormalizing the conversation about mental health and suicide
(15:52):
so that people are more willing toaccess resources like nine eight eight, and
then also in helping people around themto recognize with someone that may be struggling,
because what you may be doing isencouraging a loved one to reach out
to ninety eight. And final questionfor you, what are different ways that
everyone can get involved with your organization? The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and
(16:15):
support the important work that you're doing. Oh, such a great question.
So I encourage folks go to ourwebsite FSP dot org. On our website,
first of all, you can finda local chapter in your area.
Find out where your local chapters are. There. There are resource on our
website for folks who may be lookingfor answers to how to have these conversations.
(16:37):
We do have our talk of withthe Dark campaign on the website.
We've got our real Convo guide onthe website. We also have information on
how you can connect with a WALKin your community, how you can connect
with other suicide loss envivors in yourcommunity to get that kind of social support,
how to get involved in supporting theresearch that we do at AFSP.
So by all means, go toa FSP dot or look at all the
(16:59):
different reas sources that we have there. And if you interested in connecting with
us, I encourage you to goto our website, find what you're interested
in, and we have more thanhappy to connect with you. And of
course if you're looking for help,they have that there as well. Again
AFSP dot org. That's a FSPdot org. Vic Armstrong vice president of
(17:22):
Health Equity at the American Foundation forSuicide Prevention with us for Mental Health Awareness
Month. Vick, I want tothank you so much for coming on the
show and for all the great workyou and your organization are doing. We
really appreciate it. Thank you forhaving me. All Right, I'm Ryan
Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities, andnow let me bring in my next guest
for Mother's Day weekend. I'm joinedby Christy Terlington Burns, founder and president
(17:42):
of Every Mother Counts, which youcan learn more about at Everymothercounts dot org.
Christy, thank you so much fortaking a few minutes to join us,
and let's start with an overview ofthe work your organization. Doesn't how
this organization first came about. Sure, thank you. It's great to be
here. I founded the organization backin twenty ten. I like to say
(18:03):
that I became a global maternal healthadvocate the day that I became a mother,
and that was actually in two thousandand three. I had a pretty
normal pregnancy and was really ready andexcited about this new role I was going
to be taking on, and hada great care and great options here in
New York City, and then atthe other side of delivering my daughter,
(18:29):
the unexpected happened, which is thatI experienced a postpartum hemorrhage, which is
one of the leading causes of maternalmortality in the world. And that experience,
coupled with my awareness in that momentof what was needed when things turn
on a dime, is what sortof led me to finding this organization.
(18:49):
We really work hard to not onlyinvest in community based programs and solutions right
the people who are meeting the mostmarginalized or historically a marginalized communities and trying
to meet them where they are andprovide really high quality and respectfully respectful maternity
care, and also to amplify thosemodels of care and the individuals providing it
(19:12):
in our storytelling and our filmmaking,as well as using those stories and those
models of care to help to shapeand influence policy and our advocacy work.
When we talk about maternal health,what all does that encompass? Gosh,
I mean, we're very much focusedon a specific time in a woman's reproductive
(19:33):
lives, you know, pregnancy,delivery, and a full year postpartum,
which has been the time period thatmany policy makers and advocates alike have worked
really hard to extend Medicaid coverage fora full year. Obviously, maternal health
starts way before one is in aposition to decide whether they will become a
(19:56):
mother. It's really important that womenand girls' health is in its optimum when
starting to think about those kinds ofthings and changes in our lives. It's
obviously a huge responsibility, but obviouslyalso a big economic commitment, and so
the better we can prepare and gointo that phase of our lives, the
(20:18):
more likely that we'll have a safeand healthy outcome. When you have a
relationship with a provider and are inthe healthcare system already, you are more
likely to sort of address any complicationsearlier on in the process and hopefully have
the you know, the access andability to be able to seek other kinds
(20:38):
of care should you need it.And so then postpartum it continues. Right
One of our grantee partners says thatpostpartum is forever, and I would agree.
Now that my kids are both adults, it doesn't end. You know,
when you become a mother or aparent, it's very hard to kind
of shut that switch off. Soour health is determined based on that experience.
(21:02):
Oftentimes it's our first interaction with ahealth care provider or a hospitalization,
and so there's just a lot atstake when we're thinking about bringing life into
the world. On this Mother's Dayweekend, I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by
the founder and president of Every MotherCounts, Christy Turlington Burns. You can
learn more about this organization and everyMothercounts dot org. I think a lot
(21:23):
of people listening would just assume thatthe United States is towards the top when
it comes to how countries deal withmaternal health. But there is a maternal
health crisis here in the US.Can you tell us a little bit about
that. Yes, yeah, theUS is one of very few countries,
(21:44):
developed countries, high resource countries witha rising maternal mortality rate. It is
more dangerous to give birth today thanit was a generation ago for moms,
particularly black and brown moms. Thereare you know, the risk is two
to three times hire for a blackand brown mother to become a mother in
this country. And there's only onereal thing at the root of that problem,
(22:08):
which is institutional racism and bias inour medical systems, which is keeping
people from seeking care in a moretimely way. We've been advocating on this
issue, trying to raise awareness ofthe black paternal health crisis in this country
for some time, but there hasbeen a significant amount of progress in the
last few years, particularly with theleadership and the establishment of the Black Paternal
(22:33):
Health Caucus, And today there area package, very comprehensive package of about
thirteen bills which are called collectively theMamnibus Act, that seek to address many
of the disparities and also you know, data collection and the things that we
need in order to be able toreally address these disparities. Well, and
(22:55):
that's one thing that I think isimportant to note. You're not just talking
about the problem with your organization Everymother AC counts. You're working on solutions.
So what are some of the solutionsthat are in that bill or just
that you're advocating for in general.Yeah, I mean, I think a
really important thing is the way thatwe the way we care for women right
when women feel seen and heard andlisten to, that builds confidence in the
(23:22):
mother or the birthing person at hand. That's such an important part when you
are interfacing with the medical system,right, being able to know your body
well enough to be able to askthe right questions and to have the guidance
about what questions to ask at whattime throughout a pregnancy and postpartum. This
is like a really important thing interms of just building relationship between patient provider
(23:45):
that I think again enhances the ultimateexperience of bringing life into the world.
Another really important thing is just reallyinvesting in community based providers, knowing that
not rebirth requires surgery or hospitalization,and so really thinking about how we can
best meet women and families where theyare, which is likely in the communities
(24:08):
that they live in. This isthe way that you know, doulas,
which are basically patient advocates or youknow, psychosocial support systems that really help
guide a mom through the process ifshe doesn't have other support systems in in
her in her world. And sowe really do a lot on you know,
(24:33):
making sure that doulas are more available, that they are affordable, but
also that there is coverage for thekinds of benefits that they bring to the
outcome of the pregnancy itself. Andthen midwise. Midwise are an incredibly effective
and low cost solution of women's healthcare. So, for example, I
(24:56):
had midwives deliver both my children ina New York City hospital birthing center.
And you know, midwives Duelas andObi Guyindes work together as a team so
that depending on how high of arisk your pregnancy, your situation might be,
you know, they're working and handingoff the patient or having that continuity
of care. So we advocate forcontinuity of care as well. And then
(25:18):
data collection has been so important.You know, for many, many decades,
there was not consistent reporting on maternalmortality in any state, you know,
let alone across the country, andnow there is, you know,
there is a maternal mortality Review boardin almost every city and state in the
country. With that review process whichlooks at each and every death and complication
(25:41):
that comes through a hospital system,there is more understanding and learning that we
can take into this conversation to addressthe needs at large. This has been
a huge thing. There's been recentreports to sort of questioning the data and
how how reliable the data is.But I think it's been a huge,
hugeccomplishment to be able to collect theamount of data that we have, and
(26:03):
there's still so much to be donein terms of really understanding what we have
access to now. As you've workedto raise awareness on this issue through your
organization and as a public figure yourself. What has the response been like,
how many mothers have come forward andhave told you that, you know,
this is an issue obviously that impactedthem, and having you and your organization
(26:27):
behind them has made a significant impact. It's really incredible. Actually, every
time that I speak to a newaudience or show one of the films that
we've made that we do a lotof storytelling and filmmaking to share some of
these challenges and solutions, audience memberscome up with either similar kinds of complications
or experiences or a lot of ouraudiences are also people that are stakeholders.
(26:52):
They're in the ecosystem of internal health, and they come and they say,
oh gosh, you know, I'vemyself treated a patient in a way that
I didn't realize was disrespectful. Ididn't realize that that was judgmental. I
didn't realize that that would push herout of the health system or make her
less trusting of my care, sotalentless. I mean, it's a conversation.
I think this is one of thoseissues that we all can relate to,
(27:15):
whether or not we've been through itourselves had a positive or negative experience,
we know someone who has. Andalso we all came into the world
one way or the other, rightand we all had a mother at some
time. So it's really one ofthose those issues that people when they know,
they say, what can I doand how can I help? And
really Every Mother Counts exists for thatvery reason. We have a lot of
(27:37):
information on our website, Everymothercounts dotorg. Again, we create films and
campaigns and social messaging which helps toyou know, unpack the various challenges and
can you know, mixed messages thatmight be out there. We do a
good job trying to like look atthe data, you know, digest the
data, break it down for peopleso that more of us can be a
(28:00):
part of the conversation and a partof those solutions that are needed. And
finally, what are some ways thateveryone can support the work every Mother Counts
is doing, especially on this Mother'sDay weekend, well Mother's Days of course,
our biggest campaign season of the year. We actually have a matching campaign
each year, and that's a greatopportunity for people who are feeling like they
(28:23):
want to support, want to payforward their own experiences a lot of mothers
don't necessarily want flowers and breakfast andbed. They would want to make sure
that another mother goes to this processand enters motherhood in the right way as
a healthy, strong woman who canthrive in motherhood. And so it's a
great way for people to donate andalso double your impact while doing it during
(28:48):
a match period of time. Also, we have a number of product partnerships
and there's a Mother's Day collection that'savailable on our website that has some really
lovely Mother's Day gifts, gifts thatget back. We really believe that the
gift of motherhood itself, you know, is the thing that we're celebrating this
year, and it truly is ifagain, you have the support systems in
(29:10):
place and are feeling your best.Christy Terlington Burns, founder and president of
Every mother Counts Again. You canlearn more and support their work at Everymothercounts
dot org. Christy, thank youso much for taking a few minutes to
come on the show. We reallyappreciate it. Thank you, my pleasure,
thank you for your help. AllRight, and that's going to do
it for this edition of iHeartRadio Communities. As we wrap things up, want
(29:32):
off our big thanks to all ofour guests, and of course to all
of you for listening. If youwant to hear previous episodes of the show,
we're on your iHeartRadio app. Justsearch for iHeartRadio Communities. I'm your
host, Ryan Gorman. We'll talkto you again real soon.
Host
Manny Munoz
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
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
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.