- April 18, 2024
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In 2016, Volusia County had 104 suicides — a suicide rate of 18.3 per 100,000 people. That rate is about 4.1 per 100,000 higher than Florida’s rate of 14.1 per 100,000 people, according to a special report on mental health and suicide released by the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County.
Of this number, nine suicides, 8.7%, were in Port Orange, and eight suicides, 7.7% were in Ormond Beach.
According to the DOH, white residents had consistently higher numbers than the county as a whole during a five-year period, with zip code 32132 having the highest suicide rate of 59.9 per 100,000.
When looking at gender, the report indicates men in Volusia County accounted for the majority of suicide deaths from 2012 to 2016.
According to Jane Johnson, director of advocacy and external relations with the Florida Council for Community Mental Health, there has also been an increase in the number of children referred for Baker Act examinations. These involuntary psychiatric examinations take place when an individual is taken into custody under Florida’s mental health law.
“Although that sounds bad that more kids are getting referred, it’s inconclusive whether or not that’s actually good,” Johnson said. “Because that actually means that kids are being better evaluated and assessed and referred for treatment so that suicide can be prevented.”
According to the report, the number of suicides among Volusia residents, ages 10 to 24, went down to 12.9 per 100,000 in 2016, from 29.2 per 100,000 in 2014.
Melanie Brown-Woofter, FCCMH interim CEO, added that medical professionals are also using more screening tools for prevention. This would include obstetrics and gynecology professionals or primary care doctors asking patients questions about their mental health.
“Now that there’s more screening, we hope to work on the prevention,” Brown-Woofter said. “Once you know that it’s there, you can get referred for adequate treatment screening.”
FCCMH is participating in a grant for suicide prevention called the Florida Linking Individuals Needing Care Grant to conduct research with the goal of preventing future suicides. Through the LINC Project, there have been more than 500 community members, families and clinicians throughout the county that have been trained in both suicide prevention and intervention. According to the state’s department of health, hundreds more are expected to be trained by 2019.
Johnson explained that one misconception she has seen when it comes to suicides is that there is a single reason why people are suicidal. Because of this, she said people need to understand there are different approaches to work with individuals who have suicidal tendencies.
“It’s something that no one wishes on themselves,” Johnson said. “It’s not a character flaw or a moral failing, it’s really the result of someone having an untreated illness, mental or physiological.”
