Mental Health Wellness and Suicide Prevention Open House Scheduled

The Montgomery County Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities will be one of the participating organizations in a free open house during National Suicide Prevention Week, Sept. 10 - 14.  

The open house is being hosted by the Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Work Group (MCSPWG) and will be held on Tuesday, September 11, 2012, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., at the Church on the Mall at the Plymouth Meeting Mall, 500 West Germantown Pike. 

Information will be available on mental health wellness, mental illness, suicide prevention, recovering from a suicide attempt and coping with suicide loss. 

Additional organizations represented include NAMI, Montgomery County Emergency Service (MCES), the Veterans Administration, Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital, Eagleville Hospital, the Center for Loss and Bereavement, the Horsham Clinic, CONTACT of Greater Philadelphia, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Survivors of Suicide (SOS), and others.

The incidence of suicide is a serious community health problem in Montgomery County.  There were 114 suicides in 2011, and the number of suicides has been increasing every year since 2005.

The Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Work Group is a voluntary coalition of community groups, behavioral health providers, and county agencies that promotes suicide prevention efforts in Montgomery County. 

For information contact Tony Salvatore at 610-279-6100 or at tsalvatore@mces.org.