POCATELLO — Please Just Stay, an initiative to bring awareness and resources during suicide awareness month, kicked off Wednesday evening at Lookout Point.

Bannock County Coroner Torey Danner started the Please Just Stay platform in 2023 to provide area residents with a collective of resources for Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month.

Over 20 resources are listed on the initiative’s freshly redesigned website, pleasejuststay.org, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and a variety of supportive local businesses and nonprofits such as Aid For Friends, Southeastern Idaho Public Health, the Pocatello Free Clinic, the Restorative Center, Stronger Than and the 9/22 Project.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2023, there were 49,316 deaths of Americans by suicide and an estimated 1.5 million suicide attempts.

Danner said he wants to bring to light all the resources that are available for individuals struggling with suicidal ideation because there is not a one-size-fits-all fix.

“Everybody has a different approach,” Danner said. “They have different issues. Maybe it's a family member, a friend or somebody that's looking to try and start a conversation that's a difficult conversation to have without causing more issues or adding more stress. Maybe they want to educate themselves on what resources are available and understand how to go about starting the conversation of getting somebody some help. That's the biggest piece.”

Danner continued, “That's the whole idea is to have this platform to bring all of the resources together to utilize the website. On top of that, we also are doing our Reader Board campaign that allows businesses to promote Please Just Stay as you're driving through the community.”

The theme for suicide awareness this month is "Creating Hope Through Action.” Wednesday night’s kick off event saw the return of Honor Beads, which are used in suicide awareness to signify a personal or closely related struggle with suicide and suicidal ideation. From the loss of a spouse or partner, close personal friend or relative, parent or a personal struggle, each Honor Bead color signifies that these battles are not fought alone.

The kick off initiative also featured speakers who touched on their own personal experiences losing loved ones to suicide and how important it is to lean on those in the community for support.

A candlelight vigil was also held in remembrance of those who have passed on and in somber reflection of those who have lost greatly due to suicide.

Wednesday evening’s kick off was just the first event that Danner has planned for the entire month as he spreads awareness on suicide and how to access the proper resources for those that are struggling before its too late.

“I think for me personally in my office, we see the negative effects of this all the time,” Danner said. “I see it firsthand, as far as investigations that we do involving suicide. It's important and near and dear to my heart to try and bring everybody together to show them that there are resources that are available.”

For other nonprofits and providers that are currently not listed on the Please Just Stay Website, Danner is requesting those that are interested to reach out so that he gets them involved.

“We can look at what services you provide and are able to add that to our resource list,” Danner said. “I think that is the biggest impact, to provide as much help as we can get and give to the community. That's what makes our community so great is to watch everybody come together and help.”

For Danner, supporting the community with these essential resources is one of the biggest reasons he founded this cause, pushed it forward and grew the initiative.

“It's a really neat experience to be able to drive through the community and look up and see just such a positive message,” Danner said. “It's a message of hope. We just want to pull everybody in and encourage any business or community member, anybody that's out there that can help us promote any resourcing or anything that will help stop suicide. That's the biggest importance of this.”