Youth project works to help save lives
On both a personal and professional level, Jolie Fish knows the devastating effects of teen suicide on friends and loved ones who are left to cope with heartbreaking loss.
She works with troubled families, including some touched by suicide, in her job as director of Family Court Services for District Court, and she lost her only son to suicide 20 years ago — just two months before he would have graduated from high school.
Both her personal and professional experiences prompted her to become actively involved in suicide prevention through the Flathead Youth Suicide Prevention Project and the Flathead Suicide Prevention Coalition, services supported by the United Way which work to decrease the incidence of youth suicides.
“I would never want this legacy, but the only legacy I have from my son’s death is to try to help prevent this from happening to other families,” she said.
Montana has the second-highest suicide rate in the nation and Flathead County is one of the top 100 counties in the nation for suicide. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for adolescents in our state.
More than 1.8 million Americans attempt suicide each year. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that every suicide intimately affects at least six people.
“It’s pretty astounding when you look at those numbers,” said Fish. “If I can just help one person, it makes a difference, because there are so many people out there who might not get the help they need.”
The mission of the Youth Suicide Prevention Project is to reduce the number of teen suicides by providing information and support to young people at risk and their families.
Fish and other volunteers speak in schools and to community groups and help people recognize the signs of people who are at risk for suicide and give them tools to help keep young people from attempting to end their lives.
“Our purpose is to give them hope,” Fish said.
Fish has been involved with the United Way for many years and appreciates the resources it provides to the community.
“I’ve always been a United Way supporter,” she said. “There are so many programs my clients use. There is agency after agency after agency that the United Way supports that helps make my clients’ lives better.”
The Flathead Youth Suicide Prevention Project and the Flathead Suicide Prevention Coalition are among many agencies and services that benefit from the local United Way campaign.
“Follow Your Heart” is the theme of the current 2011 United Way fund drive, which benefits a variety of nonprofit agencies that help neighbors throughout Northwest Montana.
Goal set at $850,000
The monetary goal for the campaign is $850,000.
Last year, United Way member agencies helped nearly 44,822 people in need. Ninety-nine percent of all money raised stay in local communities to help local citizens.
A recurring theme of the campaign is that ”One Small Step Can Make A Difference” to improve the lives of everyone in the Valley, meeting the everyday needs of everyday people. The United Way has a variety of suggestions for ways that people can improve the world around them.
Current United Way member agencies are Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs of Glacier Country, Eagle Transit, Flathead CARE, Flathead Food Bank, Flathead Youth Home, Girl Scouts, Head Start, Help Net-First Call for Help; Literacy Volunteers, Mental Health Crisis Line, Nurturing Center, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, Samaritan House, Sinopah House, Special Friends Advocacy Program, Summit Independent Living Center and the Violence Free Crisis Line/Abbie Shelter.
Services supported by the United Way include CASA for Kids, Disaster Care Services, Gateway Community Center, Leaders of Tomorrow, Montana 211 Database Project, the United Way Volunteer Center and Youth Suicide Prevention Project.
The United Way also supports the following emergency food and shelter programs in Northwest Montana: Bread Basket, Community Harvest Food Bank, Helping Hands, Hot Springs Food Pantry, Lake County Mental Health Center, Lamplighter House Kitchen, Libby Food Pantry, Libby Food and Shelter Services, Mission Valley Food Pantry, Neighbors in Need, Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry, Salvation Army Meal Program, Sanders County Coalition for Families, Thompson Falls Food Pantry and Troy Food Pantry.
Donors may choose how to donate, including cash, payroll deductions, charging to a credit card, direct billing or through automatic bank transfers. Donors also may designate which member agencies or local affiliated partner agencies or the Montana Shares Federation they want to receive their gifts.
For more information on the United Way campaign, call 752-7266. Donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 7217, Kalispell, MT 59904.