Rally will remember 35 who died by suicide in Butler County last year
Thirty-five people died by suicide in Butler County in 2023, and the Butler Suicide Coalition will pay tribute to them in September.
The coalition will place 35 pairs of shoes around the fountain at Butler’s Diamond Park on Sept. 4, to represent the lives lost during the coalition’s annual Suicide Remembrance Rally. The event is an opportunity for people affected by suicide and people struggling with mental health to convene and share their stories.
September is Suicide Awareness Month.
Amy Cirelli, mental health specialist for Butler County Human Services, said the coalition has put together the remembrance rally for the past several years, and the organization’s consistent presence seems to have raised awareness about suicide.
“I think there is an increased awareness and people are more open to sharing resources,” Cirelli said. “Even on our Facebook page, we can see the engagement numbers. The posts are reaching more people, more people seem to be sharing them.”
The rally will feature speakers who will discuss different aspects of mental health and suicide from their own perspectives. One of the speakers this year is Alyssa Mainhart, an interim housing coordinator for the Center for Community Resources, who said she had attempted suicide.
Mainhart plans to talk about the circumstances that led to her wanting to end her life, which include struggles with housing, addiction and difficult personal relationships. She said because she experienced many factors that can lead to bad physical and mental health, she believes she can relate to people facing similar troubles.
“I also think it's important to address mental health challenges that lead someone to consider ending their life,” Mainhart said. “It's housing insecurity, domestic violence and substance use. All of this can make life really unbearable.”
In the years following her suicide attempts, Mainhart has gotten sober and has taken classes at Butler County Community College to take steps from the factors that led to her biggest challenges. She said she hopes her talk at the rally will demonstrate to people in attendance that change is possible.
“I tried to do all the wrong things, I thought maybe I could turn it all around,” Mainhart said. “Now, I'm so happy that I didn't, and I just want to help other people.”
The rally also will feature talks from local mental health advocates, therapy dogs on-site and Cirelli said there always is some kind of tangible project attendees participate in to help raise awareness of suicide. Previous rallies saw people put their painted handprints onto a poster and placing messages of hope onto displays.
In addition to the rally, the Butler Suicide Coalition is hosting a screening of the documentary “Suicide: the Ripple Effect” at Penn Theater on Sept. 18. The organization is also hosting a game night at Your Parents’ Basement on Sept. 24.
The coalition also offers Question, Persuade, Refer trainings, which teach people how to identify signs that a person may be considering suicide, and how to best react to those scenarios.
Cirelli said the organization has taught the class to several churches and organizations this year, including the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School and BC3. She said this training is useful to people who would like to learn how to prevent suicide in their personal communities.
“We've had a couple people in the community schedule a QPR at churches,” Cirelli said. “We are reaching more people. More and more people are aware; people are recognizing the importance.”
