(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by CMMHC.)

Central Minnesota Mental Health Center (CMMHC) announces the release of its resource Toolkit for Suicide Prevention Awareness and Substance Use Recovery in September. Accessible on CMMHC’s website homepage, the Toolkit contains information, FAQs, personal stories, resources, and a local events calendar. 

Residents, businesses, or visitors to Benton, Stearns, Sherburne, or Wright counties communities can use the Toolkit as a springboard for further discussion about suicide prevention awareness and substance use disorder recovery. As a recognized mental and chemical health leader, CMMHC wants to share that there is hope, help is available, and healing is possible by accessing and integrating the Toolkit into their daily lives and practices.

“People who don’t see a way out of their pain need to know that there is somewhere they can turn for support,” Shannon Link, CMMHC’s Director of Crisis, says. “The Toolkit offers a starting point and a path forward for getting the help they need.” 

The Toolkit’s creation occurs in conjunction with September’s recognition as Suicide Prevention Awareness and Substance Use Recovery Month. Suicide continues to be a leading cause of death in the United States, with over 50,000 individuals losing their lives to suicide last year. It is essential to provide ongoing resources and education to help those struggling with suicidal ideation and their friends and family. Despite local and national efforts to expand treatment access, addiction is an ongoing and escalating national crisis. Recovery is a challenging process and a lifetime of vigilance for those who successfully quit drugs and alcohol.

“It is critical that people experiencing mental health and substance use disorders receive the support they need. This Toolkit offers people in recovery resources to live full and healthy lives,” says CMMHC’s Director of Chemical Health, Danielle Brant.