Service Dogs Saving Lives to host community event June 7

Service Dogs Saving Lives uses multiple platforms to raise awareness about mental health struggles and the importance of using service dogs to save lives.

The organization will host a community event from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Friday, June 7, at the Hope Center, 81 Central Ave., Ocean View. Presenters will explain the methodology of using highly trained service dogs as suicide prevention agents for veterans, first responders and others suffering with mental health issues and suicide ideation.

A leading cause of death and an important public health problem in the United States, suicide is a tragedy for all involved – the people and their families, friends, neighbors, colleagues and communities.

With more than 45,000 lives lost to suicide in 2022, Delaware is no exception to the rise in suicide deaths. In Delaware, as nationally, men are more likely to die by suicide than women. For non-Hispanic white males, in particular, the rate between 2014 and 2018 was 26.3 per 100,000 people in the state. While Delawareans with an armed forces background comprise fewer than 10% of the state's population, they accounted for nearly 20% of suicides between 2014 and 2018. In Sussex County, the 2014-18 rate of suicide for males was 22.9% – at a rate per 100,000 population – the highest percentage of all three counties, according to  the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.

For more information or to donate, go to servicedogssavinglives.org.