Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            A kick-off event for Depression Awareness Month is planned at Shawnee State University from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31 in the University Center Jazzman’s Café Lobby.
            Carolyn Givens, executive director of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation will be guest speaker.
            “Ohio is recognized as having one of the largest statewide grass roots suicide prevention infrastructures in the nation,” Givens said. “OSPF is proud of the network of 73 county coalitions and anticipates five coalitions will develop in 2010.”
            According to the OSPF:
                        · Suicides kill an average of 1,300 Ohioans each year with about three deaths per day.
                        · For every homicide in Ohio, there are two suicides.
                        · Suicide is the 11th ranking cause of death for all ages and the second leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 24.
                        · Males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate of females and represent 79 percent of Ohio suicides.
            “There are more suicides in the month of April than any other time of the year,” said Linda Koenig, counselor, SSU’s Office of Counseling and Psychological Services. “So, we wanted to kick off the month with a suicide prevention program.”
            Depression screenings provided by the SSU’s Counseling and Psychological Services will be available during the event. The Scioto County Suicide Prevention Foundation will provide educational materials.
            The event is free and open to the public, sponsored by SSU’s Women’s Center and SCSPF.