Trumbull Mental Health board offers free gun locks to stop suicides

Staff report

WARREN

Trumbull County had 25 suicide deaths from Jan. 1 to Nov. 1 last year, and 88 percent were males, the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board says.

The highest number of deaths (52 percent) were white males between age 35 and 64.

In 2017, there were 40 county suicides, and 51 percent were males between 35 and 64, said Ilona Roth-Cohn, associate director of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.

“Because gunshot was the No. 1 method used by those who died by suicide, part of our campaign is to provide free gun locks to anyone who needs them,” she said.

Other prevention and awareness activities in the county are through promotion of www.Mantherapy.org, an internet-based resource targeted at working-age men to erase the stigma surrounding mental health, Roth-Cohn said.

The Trumbull County Suicide Prevention Coalition develops prevention and awareness activities to reduce suicides.

The group meets at 3 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board, 4076 Youngstown Road SE. Meetings are open to the public.