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Community Health Network, WTHR launch Have Hope partnership to prevent suicide

For release on April 20, 2016

UPDATE: As of 1/7/2019, the text-for-help hotline may be reached by texting IN to 741741.

Two-year effort aims to raise awareness about suicide, help Hoosiers find help

Indianapolis, IN—Community Health Network and WTHR-TV Channel 13 have joined forces to launch Have Hope, a two-year public service effort to raise awareness about suicide in Indiana and to help more Hoosiers get the help they need. The Have Hope effort complements Community’s HaveHope.com, an online suicide prevention resource for teenagers, parents and educators.

The partnership will kick off at WTHR’s upcoming Health and Fitness Expo, held April 23 and 24 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. There, Community and WTHR will co-host a 400 square foot space dedicated to Have Hope. Visitors to the space will be able to learn more about the warning signs and risk factors associated with suicide through interactive displays connected to HaveHope.com, as well as through on-site discussions with members of Community’s behavioral health and primary care teams.

“Have Hope is about raising awareness of this devastating issue and urging our community to take action,” said WTHR President & General Manager Larry Delia. “We are committed to helping families in Indiana by using our television and digital platforms, and we are proud to partner with Community Health Network for this important work.”

Statewide, more Hoosiers die by suicide than homicide, and Indiana has the nation’s highest rate of high school students contemplating suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 15 to 24, and the third leading cause for youth ages 10 to 14.

“Suicide is one of our state’s most concerning health issues, and the heartbreak it leaves behind is seen in our schools, families and communities,” said Community President and CEO Bryan Mills. “This is an issue that requires help from all of us, and we are profoundly grateful for the partnership offered by WTHR to raise awareness about suicide and its causes. With the station’s extensive reach and genuine commitment to making a difference, together, we will help more Hoosiers embark on a pathway to healing, hope and renewed health.”

In 2014, Community, Central Indiana’s largest provider of behavioral health services, announced its commitment to becoming the first health care system in the country to fully implement the Zero Suicide model, developed by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and other partners. At the same time, the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction and Community have partnered to spearhead the state’s suicide prevention movement to save young lives.

With an aspirational goal of achieving a zero percent suicide incident rate among patients in the next 10 years, Community’s Zero Suicide initiative aims to save Hoosier lives specifically through early intervention and prevention, the construction of a robust Central Indiana crisis network and the utilization of innovative mental health diagnostics and treatment protocols. The strategy brings crisis, telemedicine and intensive care coordination services to more than 600 primary care physicians, 10 emergency departments and 12 hospitals located throughout the state, representing both Community facilities and partner organizations where Community provides behavioral health services.

As part of the effort to combat suicide among young Hoosiers, Community provides mental health and substance abuse services to students in the school environment in more than 80 sites for Indianapolis Public Schools and the Metropolitan School Districts of Lawrence, Warren, Washington and Wayne townships.

Community’s Zero Suicide initiative, including HaveHope.com, is solely funded by individual donations and grants received from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), The Glick Fund, a fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation, and the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation. In whole, support for the suicide prevention initiative totals more than $4 million.

If you are concerned someone you know is contemplating suicide, call Community Health Network’s 24-hour, toll-free crisis hotline at 800-662-3445 or text “HELPNOW” to 20121.

The Dispatch Printing Company
The Dispatch Printing Company is a highly respected, awarding-winning organization that includes WTHR-TV Indianapolis, WBNS-10TV Columbus, OH, 97.1 The Fan, 1460 ESPN Radio, and Ohio News Network Radio.

About Community Health Network Foundation
Community Health Network Foundation is the not-for-profit philanthropic organization of Community Health Network, Central Indiana’s leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them. Donations support patients, caregivers and Central Indiana communities. For more information about Community Health Network Foundation, call 317-355-GIVE or visit eCommunity.com/Foundation.

Bridget Cleveland, Marketing and Communications Manager, Community Health Network Foundation
Bridget Cleveland
Marketing and Communications Manager, Community Health Network Foundation