Official launches suicide prevention campaign

A Quay County government official launched her own suicide-prevention campaign after learning of a spike of deaths by suicide in the area - including a friend's - and recalling her own memories of contemplating suicide years ago.

County Assessor Janie Hoffman said she became motivated to begin her "Make the Call" campaign after "a very close friend" died by suicide. She subsequently found out about eight such deaths in the county in recent months. After beginning the campaign in early November, two more deaths by suicide have occurred, she said.

Hoffman has printed and distributed flyers and business cards, at her expense, that implore those considering suicide to "Make the Call; Don't Leave Us Behind" by using the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline of (800) 273-8522. Flyers also contain the county's central dispatch number of 911 or 575-461-2160. They also urge those with suicidal thoughts to call a friend or a family member.

Hoffman acknowledged the topic of suicide often is taboo, but such a discussion needs to happen so people who suffer from thoughts of killing themselves can get help.

"It's a very sensitive subject, but we just need to give people the encouragement," Hoffman said during an interview in her office Wednesday. "We just need to try to give people hope."

"Please make the call!" the cards and flyers state. "You are the glue that holds someone else together and they will be lost without you."

Hoffman, who composed the text, drew from past experience.

"About 35 years ago, I got to a point in my life where I thought (suicide) was the answer," she said. "I was at a very low, very dark place in my life, and I called my brother. We talked for three hours, and he helped me get back on the right track.

"What he said to me was, 'So you think things are really bad and you want out? What about your daughter? She is going to left to deal with what you're dealing with on her own, without you.' That's when I realized I needed to be here.

"Years of life lost with a suicide ... just in thinking about that with my circumstances, if I would have followed through, I wouldn't have had my son and his children because I wouldn't be here," Hoffman continued. "I wouldn't have enjoyed my daughter's four children she's had.

"I'm just very, very thankful I had the initiative to make that call. That's why my campaign is called, 'Make the Call; Don't Leave Us Behind.' I picked myself up and, at a later point in my life, I did seek counseling. There's absolutely nothing wrong with seeking counseling if you're at a spot like that in your life."

The impetus for Hoffman's "Make the Call" campaign occurred several weeks ago.

"After I lost a really close friend (to death by suicide) this year, I felt like I needed to do something," she said. "I wanted to get the number out and let people know there was a place to go for help if they were feeling hopeless and struggling during this time of year and with all the restrictions with COVID."

The numbers

Hoffman said she had estimated four deaths by suicide had occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and state-mandated restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.

But David Crane, director at Mesa Counseling in Tucumcari, told her eight had occurred.

"I was shocked," Hoffman said. "Four, to me, was a lot."

Since then, Hoffman said, two more deaths by suicide have occurred, raising the number to 10 in the past four to five months. She also said Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari was treating three to five suicidal patients a week.

The topic of local suicides became more public during the Dec. 3 meeting of the Tucumcari City Commission. District 5 Commissioner Todd Duplantis asked about expanding mental health services, noting since March, when the pandemic began, 11 deaths by suicide have occurred in the county.

Crane, who's lived in Tucumcari for 23 years, said in a telephone interview Thursday that "I sincerely believe there are three times the number of attempted and completed suicides" in the county compared to a year ago.

When asked whether the county was seeing an epidemic of suicides, he affirmed there was.

A spokeswoman for Trigg Hospital didn't comment about the number of such patients there, deferring comment to the New Mexico Department of Health.

DOH spokeswoman Marisa Maez said it was difficult to compile an exact number of deaths by suicide in the county during such a short time window.

"There is always a delay in determining the cause and manner of suicide deaths at the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI)," Maez stated in an email. "Delays are related to toxicology testing, law enforcement records investigation, etc. Then OMI has to enter the information into our eVitals system.

"All of these steps cause significant delays, so any tallies would be incomplete. OMI would have the most up-to-date counts, but again there are many pending cause and manner of death."

A request last week to the state's Office of Medical Examiner for such data for Quay County hadn't been fulfilled before deadline.

Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer said Friday that Crane's estimation on the county's suicide numbers "matches up pretty close" with his department's observations.

"Since I've been sheriff, it's by far the highest I've seen it," Shafer said. "It's unusual."

New Mexico for years has had the nation's highest suicide rate. A DOH epidemiologist told the Quay County Commission in June 2019 - before the pandemic - the county's suicide rate of 33.2 per 100,000 people was the highest in New Mexico except for Taos and Sierra counties.

That rate would equate to about three such deaths per year in the county. However, Crane said he believed the actual number in a normal year is eight to 10. He said the official number likely is low because many surviving family members are reluctant to report such deaths.

Prevention efforts

Before proceeding with her campaign, Hoffman said she consulted with the Quay County Health Council, which forwarded her more information and encouraged her to follow through on her idea.

"I applaud Janie for taking on this issue and trying to make a difference," council coordinator Brenda Bishop stated in an email. "Everyone is important to our community and especially to their friends and family. ... We want to encourage everyone who is feeling down or experiencing depression to seek help from one of our local counselors or call the suicide hotline."

Hoffman said COVID-19 and its restrictions are big factors in the rise of local suicides.

"The news has been so negative concerning COVID," she said. "We've had to change our whole way of life, and change is hard in itself. Then you have the holidays, which is a difficult time of year for a lot of people. All of that combined ... it's a compounding effect."

Crane said "there's no doubt" the isolation caused by the pandemic, between the state's stay-at-home order and people wanting to avoid the virus, has been "overwhelming" to those vulnerable to depression and other mental-health problems.

He encouraged residents to go outside, get exercise and make phone calls or get on social media platforms to lessen their isolation.

"We've got to stay focused on the future," Crane said.

Crane also said the region has several mental-health professionals who can help ailing residents, including:

• Sunrise Medical Group, 575-461-8631

• Mental Health Resources, 575-461-3013

• Mesa Counseling, 575-461-6200

• Professional Counseling Associates, 575-461-9907

• Sabrina Gaskill, 575-461-8783

• Ted Wooldridge, (806) 359-4127

As for her flyers and business cards, Hoffman said they have been picked up by several residents and distributed as far away as Portales and Moriarty.

"Everyone seems positively receptive and glad we're working on this," she said.

Those interested in printing their own flyers can receive a Word document download from Hoffman by emailing [email protected]. She also can be called at her office at 575-461-1760 or by cell at 575-403-8640.