DARE COUNTY, N.C. — September was Suicide Awareness Month, which puts a spotlight on the issue, but a Dare County mental health professional is working to make sure prioritizing mental health is something that is always top of mind for people year round. 

What You Need To Know

  • Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in Dare County
  • Breaking Through Taskforce was created in 2016 to provide mental health resources

  • The taskforce works to end the stigma around suicide and mental health issues

Kelly Nettin Fleming, who chairs the Breaking Through Taskforce, said it is their aim to help the community start having challenging conversations about mental health. She is also supervisor of the Health Education & Outreach for Dare County Health and Human Services. Fleming said in her 16 years with the department, the number of deaths by suicide has grown.  

“Our main focus is to decrease stigma and has been since day one. And we believe we can achieve that through education. Nationally, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, and in Dare County it’s the eighth leading cause of death. So, you know, the data does show we have a little bit… we have a problem,” Fleming said.

The task force she heads up works at giving people the opportunity to have more open conversations about mental health.

“The more we talk about it, you know, and the more we get comfortable with being uncomfortable, the better off we’re going to be,” Fleming said.  

She says also paying attention to the little things can help you recognize signs someone is struggling. 

“One of the things that’s really important is, you know, just paying attention. And if someone is talking about wanting to die, having significant guilt or shame, they feel like they’re a burden to others…and then you also want to look for changing behaviors,” Fleming said.

She said changing the language around suicide is important too. 

 “Words like committed suicide. You know when you think about using that phrase, like, what else did we commit? We commit crimes, we commit sin, you know, and that word is very much associated with negativity,” Fleming said.

Besides national resources, the task force holds suicide and mental health events yearly to help start difficult conversations. The task force recommends the national suicide and crisis lifeline as the best resource if you or a loved one are struggling. You can call or text 9-8-8 for help.