Suicide Prevention Week Focuses on Awareness

With the backing of Oregon Partnership, The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has proclaimed September 6 through September 12 as National Suicide Prevention Week in Multnomah County.

 Oregon Partnership President/CEO Judy Cushing said that suicide is the second leading cause of death among Oregonians ages 10-24 and for each death by suicide, there are 25 attempts.

“The majority of suicidal individuals display signals or clues,” Cushing read from the proclamation. “The risk of suicide is increased by more than 50% in depressed individuals and the risk of suicide in individuals with an alcohol problem is 50-70% higher than the general population.”

But as the county proclamation points out, “preventing suicide is possible through mental health and addiction treatment.”

“All of us should know and act on the signs,” added Cushing. “This is a community health problem, and we should all play a part in the solution. Awareness is key.”

Oregon Partnership operates the state’s Lifeline, a 24-hour suicide prevention line responding to callers in crisis and providing support, guidance and facilitating suicide rescue if necessary.

Because of the sour economy, the number of veterans returning home, and with OP’s Lifeline now serving as the Northwest regional backup center, Lifeline this past winter took more calls than OP’s alcohol and drug crisis line.

The number of Lifeline calls received by OP in July of 2009 totaled 1,894.  Calls from Multnomah County normally account for 40-50% of the statewide calls.

“Although we are accustomed to dealing with callers who have financial challenges,” explained OP crisis lines director, Leslie Storm, “the calls have become more alarming as people lost jobs, health insurance and faced losing their homes.”

OP staff and a 100 trained volunteers respond to more than 35,000 calls per year on its four crisis lines:

Lifeline – 800-273-TALK, 800-SUICIDE
Alcohol and Drug HelpLine – 800-923-HELP
YouthLine – 877-553-TEEN
Linea de Ayuda – 877-515-7848

Suicide Prevention Week includes World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10, 2009, which is recognized internationally and supported by the World Health Organization.
About Oregon Partnership:
Oregon Partnership is a statewide nonprofit that has worked to promote healthy kids and communities for well over a decade by raising awareness about drug and alcohol issues, providing prevention education in classrooms, and 24-hour crisis lines for people needing help. To learn more, visit www.orpartnership.org.

Just what we don’t need – more alcohol advertising

It’s not exactly a news flash.  But the advertising of alcohol is at an all-time bender.  Beer manufacturers are sponsoring concerts, festivals and sporting events at an historic rate. Tune into cable channels, and you’ll see commercials for hard liquor – something that just a few years ago, was unheard of.

And don’t think the TV networks and local stations are watching this phenomenon closely.  After years of a self-imposed ban, the networks are sure to take advantage of this growing acceptance of hard liquor advertising. And when that happens, you’ll see more alcohol ads on TV than car ads.

And now, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission says it will re-examine a rule to ban restaurants and bars from advertising lower priced drinks at happy hours.  The OLCC says the rules are outdated, pointing to an absence of what should be allowed on websites and elsewhere in the on-line universe.  And besides, the OLCC claims, it doesn’t have the resources to enforce such rules.

Oregon Partnership’s position is clear and the evidence bears it out:  If you allow more advertising of alcohol prices – which now is pretty much banned by the OLCC to prevent highly-advertised price wars – more people will abuse alcohol.  And underage drinkers – who are especially price-sensitive – will take notice and take action.

If the rules need to be brought into the 21st century, OP says lets update them. But to say that we need more alcohol advertising – and to relax restrictions on advertising prices – is unwise and dangerous.

Putting a Stop to Shoulder-Tapping

Take time to educate your kids about the dangers of asking adults to buy alcohol for them….

A guy in his mid-20s pulls into a convenience store parking lot and is approached by two teenage girls, who nervously ask him to buy alcoholic lemonade for them. The man obliges, emerging from the store a few minutes later with a couple of six-packs he hands to the kids.

Unfortunately, the scene is all too real, because most kids who consume alcohol – about 30 percent of 8th-graders and nearly half of 11th-graders say they have in the past month, according to a survey of Oregon schoolchildren – get it from adults, who either knowingly or unknowingly supply it.

That makes underage drinking an adult problem, with adult solutions.

Maybe you’ve heard the terms. Sometimes it’s called “shoulder-tapping.” Other times it’s referred to as “Hey, mister.” Whatever the term, teens asking people, often strangers, older than 21 to buy alcohol for them is troubling. And organizations such as the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the state agency that promotes responsible alcohol sales and service, and Oregon Partnership, a statewide nonprofit that works to end alcohol and other drug abuse, are seeking to prevent it.

For adolescents and teens, the mere act of drinking alcohol poses health and safety risks, from physical injuries to damage to the young, developing brain. And let’s face it: too many kids who drink do it to get drunk. In Oregon, one in every four 11th-graders say they have binged on alcohol in the past 30 days, consuming five or more drinks in a couple of hours.

Pile on top of that the potential dangers inherent when kids approach adults who are strangers and ask them to buy alcohol and the picture becomes even more alarming.

Consider one study of shoulder-tapping by University of Minnesota School of Public Health researchers, who found that almost 20 percent of young males were willing to purchase alcohol for underage youth when approached outside an alcohol establishment. The study, published in 2007, found that one in five young males older than 21 was willing to buy alcohol for youth who appeared to be underage when shoulder-tapped outside of a convenience or liquor store. In contrast, 8 percent of the general adult population entering alcohol establishments was willing to purchase alcohol. The odds of adults providing alcohol in urban areas were about nine times greater than in suburban areas.

Furnishing alcohol to a minor is illegal. In Oregon, a furnisher faces possible fines for a first violation of as much as $6,250 and up to one year in jail – penalties designed to deter and, ultimately, keep kids safe. That’s something we can all get behind.

In fact, all of us have a role in preventing youth alcohol use. For parents, one of the most effective steps to keep kids safe and alcohol free is to talk with them about the harms of drinking at a young age. Consider it an ongoing conversation rather than the big “drug talk.” Share the safety risks, from riding in a car with a teenage driver who has been drinking to alcohol-related injuries, and emphasize the compelling research that points to the fact that regular drinking can harm the developing brain. We simply know more today than we did in the past about the health risks when kids and alcohol mix.

And be clear about your rules and consequences. For example, establish a family rule against your child asking anyone to supply alcohol to them, and weave this rule into your “stranger danger” conversation. Many kids don’t realize how dangerous shoulder-tapping can be. That’s why it’s important to establish firm boundaries and monitor their behavior. Stress that, at their age, drinking is illegal, and adults who furnish it to youngsters are breaking the law.

If you suspect your son or daughter has shoulder-tapped, talk with them to determine whether it’s true. Take time to gather your emotions first, and if you confirm it’s happening, explore what’s behind their behavior by asking open-ended questions. It’s a prime opportunity to turn a negative situation into a learning opportunity.

Whether or not you’re a parent, consider taking the conversation about shoulder-tapping to a broader audience. The reality is that too many adolescents and teens drink, adults are complicit and it makes your neighborhood less safe. Talk with neighbors and parents about your concerns and work together to raise awareness about the problem. Seek out the manager or owner of the local convenience or grocery store, share your concerns and ask what steps they are taking to prevent it. Also, consider contacting a substance abuse prevention organization and/or the OLCC. The agency works with convenience, grocery and liquor store owners to prevent alcohol furnishing.

And keep a consistent eye out for shoulder-tapping around your community and the stores you frequent – a kind of broader Neighborhood Watch concept. Remember that an adult buyer can be a complete stranger in a store parking lot, or the person who lives down the block or in the nearby building complex that you see around from time to time.

Education, awareness and action are keys to prevention, and it starts with you.

More Intoxicated Fans at Sporting Events?

A few of my friends who attended Seattle Mariners and Seahawks games recently made the observation that there seem to be more drunk,unruly fans.

 It’s not exactly something new they say, just a lot worse than in past years.

If you’re a sports fan, you’ve seen them: Obnoxious ticketholders with too much to drink hurling F-bombs right and left with a family of kids sitting two seats away.

This has been an issue with the NFL, where in some stadiums, fights and injuries are commonplace. “60 Minutes” aired a story last year about how season ticket holders were giving up their seats because they don’t want to subject their kids to drunk and unruly fans.

 But baseball? Hey, I guess there are enough fans at Safeco Field willing to shell out $7 for a beer or two or three or four or more. And maybe that’s why there isn’t enough incentive to prevent fans getting intoxicated: When you can charge that much for beer, why hold down sales?

 Here in Portland, the Trail Blazers do a great job of monitoring alcohol consumption, and I don’t think I’ve seen an intoxicated fan at one of the Blazer games in years.

And that’s the solution right there: Teams need to make it clear that they’re putting strict limits on beer sales, and that they have zero tolerance with drunk fans. And if enough fans – and sponsors – start griping about the ugly, un-family-like atmosphere at the games, management will start taking action.

 It’s called prevention.

Pressure on FDA to Ban Energy Drinks!

More on the danger of energy drinks, thanks to Join Together newsletter…..and OP pal, Jim Mosher.

Various state attorneys general and advocacy groups are calling for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to ban caffeine-infused alcohol drinks from the market — or at a minimum add warning labels stating that combining caffeine and alcohol can cause health risks, the Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 3.

Drinks such as Joose, Liquid Charge and Four Loko combine malt liquor, vodka or other types of alcohol with caffeine and/or other stimulants. The drinks are particularly popular among younger consumers.

Over a recent 12-month period, Joose’s unit sales more than tripled to 1.3 million cases sold in convenience and drug stores in the U.S., according to Nielsen Co. Unit, a market-research company. Four Loko and Four Maxed also experienced an increase in their unit sales over a 12-month span.

Critics are concerned that manufacturers aren’t required to disclose the amount of caffeine in the drinks, and are urging the federal government to be more active in regulating the products.

Combining caffeine or other stimulants with alcoholic beverages is believed to keep users from feeling drunk, which could lead them to be make reckless choices such as driving while under the influence.

“It’s just a travesty that we can’t get the federal government’s attention on this,” said Jim Mosher, an alcohol-policy expert.

Redondo Beach, the maker of the drink Vicious Vodka, which combines vodka and caffeine, defended the company’s product. “Consumers have been mixing beverages which contain caffeine along with alcoholic beverages for many years — this is not a new trend,” said a company spokeswoman. “We are not aware of any proven health risks related to mixing reasonable amounts of caffeine with alcohol.”

The FDA said it is currently reviewing studies that look at the effects of combining caffeine and alcohol. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau said that it is keeping a close eye on how these drinks are marketed to make sure they are not being advertised as “stimulating” or “energizing.”

Teen Weighs in on “Shoulder Tapping”

The following was written by Arunee SengChanh as part of an awareness campaign by Oregon Partnership and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission regarding “shoulder tapping.”  It’s a term used when teens ask adults to buy them alcohol.

Shoulder tapping. This is a term I learned during middle school and, sadly, later became a term that I would witness my peers demonstrate.

Attempting to recollect the memories of my adolescent years, it feels as if it were yesterday that my friends and I were arguing over who was going to go to a store and shoulder tap customers as they walked in. This strategy of getting alcohol was kind of hit or miss. Either the adult bought the alcohol, or they didn’t. We also had to build a list in our mind of characteristics of adults who looked like they would buy us alcohol. After shoulder tapping a certain number of times, we became pretty good at judging which adults would buy us alcohol and which ones wouldn’t. I think that out of the many times my friends and I did this, about 40 percent of the adults we asked would buy the alcohol for us.

So what’s the big deal with buying alcohol for kids? Well, for one, it’s illegal. Second, it’s morally wrong. Growing up, I knew it was wrong to consume alcohol before the legal age of 21, but the age limit certainly wasn’t going to stop me, or any other kid I knew. It’s a scary thought that a kid, with the offer of a couple of extra dollars, could coax an adult to buy the alcoholic beverage that the kid wants.

Many adults I’ve encountered who buy alcoholic beverages for underage drinkers think that it’s OK for teenagers to drink every once in awhile, that teenagers are just being teenagers, and it’s a phase everyone goes through. Truth is, it’s not a phase all teenagers go through, and certainly doesn’t have to be. In today’s society, it’s already hard enough to not give in to peer pressure to drink or use drugs, but when adults think it’s harmless fun for teenagers to drink, it makes it so much harder because they are enabling us to drink. Even if an adult is supervising the underage drinkers, it makes the situation even more ridiculous because we as teenagers are not held accountable for our mistakes because there was an adult in the picture.

I have seen the many devastating effects alcohol has had in many people’s lives, including my own. It has torn families apart, created unnecessary crimes and resulted in avoidable deaths. Which makes me think, “Why would you inflict that kind of damage on adolescents?” I’m not sure if it’s that adults these days are not well informed about the effects of alcohol on the human body, or if it’s simply that they don’t care, but buying alcohol for underage drinkers is illegal and wrong. Alcohol, along with many other harmful substances, is destroying more and more of today’s youth – bit by bit. What many people think is harmless fun can result in lifelong consequences.

So adults, next time an underage drinker asks you to purchase alcohol for them, just refuse to do it. You’ll not only be doing that young person a favor, but yourself, too. If your conscience doesn’t get to you, the law will.

Arunee SengChanh is a college student and volunteer with Oregon Partnership (OP), a statewide nonprofit that exists to end alcohol and drug abuse and suicide. OP, together with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association and the Face it, Parents underage drinking prevention campaign , has kicked off a summer public awareness initiative to prevent “shoulder tapping.”

Oregon Partnership Answering State’s Crisis Calls at Record Rate

Calls to our statewide crisis lines from distraught Oregonians just keep on coming – and in record numbers as a result of the economic downturn that has hit our state especially hard.

The other night, one of our volunteers at Oregon Partnership received a phone call from a police officer downstate, thanking us for alerting them about a man who was about to kill himself.  With our help, the man was located and taken to the hospital.

Another caller to our crisis lines who had recently lost his job, his health insurance, his home – and estranged from his family – called in a suicidal state.  One of our 80 volunteers who take calls on the crisis lines convinced him to take no action while we researched financial aid and assistance for him.  Several days later, he too called to thank us.

Such examples of success stories happen on practically a daily basis here at Oregon Partnership, a statewide non-profit organization.  For the past 16 years, we have run the state’s 24-7 crisis lines with a handful of staff members trained in crisis counseling and suicide intervention.  These professionals are joined by an incredibly dedicated group of volunteers who have undergone 50 hours of training.

We operate Oregon’s only nationally-certified suicide prevention line, the statewide alcohol and drug HelpLine, a YouthLine, and a Spanish language crisis line, Linea de Ayuda.

Since January of 2008, call volume on the statewide crisis and suicide prevention lines has risen by 71%.  Just this past Tuesday, we logged 95 calls, a new daily record. 

In May alone, we responded to 1,609 suicide calls.  That’s also a record that we never thought we’d see.

There is no question that the economic crisis and the state’s high unemployment rate are largely to blame.  Last fall when the economy started stumbling, we witnessed a dramatic influx of calls.

But we are also receiving substantially more calls from veterans and returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these men and women would rather seek help from folks who are not part of the military or Veterans Administration, fearing that it would become a part of their military record. So they call us.

While those seeking help find out numbers in a variety of ways, our budget has never included extensive advertising.  We have an ad in the Yellow Pages and of course, you can find our number online.

But as the need for the crisis lines has grown, our funding has decreased.  We are receiving fewer dollars from the state, private donors and foundations.

We are asking for $650,000 from the state for the next biennium.  The funding would go toward professional staff, extensive training of volunteers, phone banks, and equipment.  Compared to other 24-7 crisis lines around the country, this is just a portion of their operating budgets.

We run a highly efficient and economical operation.  And now more than ever, we are needed.  Unfortunately, more Oregonians than ever are in crisis and need somewhere to turn.

We know from experience that if our callers had no other option than the crisis lines, the results would be of tragic proportions – more deaths and ruined lives, more visits to emergency rooms, more crime, and more expense to Oregon tax payers.

HelpLine: 1-800-923-HELP
LifeLine: 1-800-SUICIDE and 1-800-273-TALK
YouthLine: 1-877-553-TEEN
Linea de Ayuda: 1-877-515-7848

Leslie Storm
Crisis Lines Director

Oregonian Editorial Supports Oregon Partnership

Oregonian ran this editorial in its Sunday edition…

 When there’s no one else to talk to, troubled people talk to the volunteers and staffers answering the phones at the Oregon Partnership’s crisis lines. And this year, as the economy has collapsed, they’re calling in greater numbers than ever.

People contemplating killing themselves. Kids dealing with the shame of being abused. Adults dealing with vulnerable parents, or with their children who are taking drugs. People who have no job, no health insurance and little money, but who are desperate for therapy, medication or just a little encouragement.

They are all around us. They are young, old, male, female, military veterans and working mothers. And from the numbers compiled by the Oregon Partnership, the nonprofit organization that operates the lines, they are dialing in at more than twice the rate they did last year. Layoffs, furloughs and salary cuts have put more households in crisis — to the point at which desperation drives a person to call an anonymous person at the other end of a crisis line.

Further, the crises have become more severe. In a typical month last year, the crisis line responders at Oregon Partnership might have had only a couple of “rescues” — cases in which they stayed on the line with callers after summoning emergency help. Last month, there were 19. One staffer had two in one day this week.

Yet even this last line of defense against despair is struggling to stay alive. The biggest piece of the nonprofit’s budget is money granted by the state, and it is very much in jeopardy this year.

The governor’s budget included $650,000 for the Oregon Partnership’s crisis line services for the next biennium, but that amount isn’t in the budgets under consideration in Salem. Without it, says Oregon Partnership president Judy Cushing, “I don’t know how we’ll continue. That’s not a threat: I just don’t know how we’ll continue.”

If there is a heart pulsing behind the political standoffs and the dreadful budget-cutting the Legislature has undertaken this session, there will be a little money allocated to the Oregon Partnership to keep its crisis lines operating for another two years. Without it, the partnership won’t be able to keep up with the rising demand for its services.

As it is, the nonprofit leans heavily on its corps of volunteers — about 70 people who donate four or more hours a week to answer the phones. The volunteers and just six staffers, two of them full time, keep the crisis lines running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In many parts of the state, it is the only crisis line that operates around the clock. To keep up with demand, the nonprofit would like to add another few phone lines and a staffer or two.

The volunteers, too, come from many walks of life. One is Lon Getlin, the CEO of a Portland-based consumer products company. He serves on the board, and he also answers when the crisis line rings. “We get the most incredible telephone calls you can possibly imagine,” he said. He took one from a young teenager who was so intimidated by the idea of returning to school after a summer in which her mother committed suicide that she, too, was thinking of killing herself.

“She was emotional and steady, which is a very scary combination,” Getlin remembered. But after talking to Getlin for a time, and then having follow-up phone calls from crisis line staffers, the girl decided to return to school. The last time volunteers talked to her, she was doing much better.

The story of that teenage girl could have been just one more tragedy in a state that’s seen some horrific ones lately — children thrown from a bridge, others shot by their father and an unborn infant cut from his mother’s womb. If only the killers in those cases had called the crisis line, as the young teenager had the courage to do, perhaps the innocent wouldn’t have died.

Such outcomes are unknowable, but one thing is predictable: Let the crisis line go dark, and there will surely be more tragedies.

***

The Oregon Partnership operates four crisis lines that have seen increased traffic without any marketing, except for ads in the Yellow Pages.

HelpLine, a general crisis line for adults: 1-800-923-HELP

LifeLine, a board-certified suicide crisis line: 1-800-SUICIDE and 1-800-273-TALK

YouthLine, a part-time crisis line staffed by teenagers: 1-877-553-TEEN

Linea de Ayuda, a part-time, Spanish-language crisis line: 1-877-515-7848

Calls are up sharply this year. During the first four months of 2008, the crisis lines logged 2,299 calls. During the first four months this year, they received 5,849, a 154 percent increase.

New Drug Czar Speaks OP Language

Sounds as if the country’s new drug czar is in step with drug prevention efforts that Oregon Partnership advocates.  This, from Join Together newsletter:

Drug legalization “is not a part of the president’s vocabulary under any circumstances and it’s not a part of mine,” said Obama administration drug czar Gil Kerlikowske in a recent interview, Reuters reported June 5.

However, Kerlikowske said the federal government should spend less time and money pursuing nonviolent drug offenders (“We need to devote those finite resources toward those people who are the most dangerous to the community,” he said) and invest more in demand reduction, especially addiction treatment for prisoners.

“It’s clear that if they go to prison and they have a drug problem and you don’t treat it and they return … to the same neighborhood from whence they came that you are going to have the same problem,” Kerlikowske said in an interview with Reuters. “Quite frankly people in neighborhoods, police officers, et cetera, are tired of recycling the problem. Let’s try and fix it.”

Kerlikowske repeated his call for ending use of the term ‘war on drugs’ and said he will seek a more balanced approach to addressing the nation’s drug problem.

Presenting at MidSOUTH Summer School

“Media Messaging: Is it Really About the Message” and “Tackling Meth: Help in Your Community….I’ll be presenting those sessions tomorrow  at the MidSouth Summer School on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Problems at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.

That’s Little Rock, Arkansas, one of the few states where I haven’t touched down.

And I’ll tell them Oregon’s story in the meth battle.  There are some relatively new developments on the meth prevention front – not the least of which is the virtual disappearance of deadly meth labs in Oregon.  And now other states are taking note and action.

What can local drug prevention coalitions and groups do to help their cause via the media – old and new?  A lot, of course…It’s always a topic that draws much interest.

- Pete Schulberg