What brings me hope
Eradicating hopelessness
Art submitted
As I prepared for our last Hope Immersion Retreat Workshop that was a blessing to those who attended, I revisited the Center for Disease Control statistics concerning suicides in the United States.
I had not looked closely at the statistics since 2018, as I prepared for a national radio tour in celebration of the very first National Month of Hope in April. I was shocked by what I found.
According to the CDC, “After two consecutive years of declines in suicide (47,511 in 2019 and 45,979 in 2020), 2021 data indicate an increase in suicide to 48,183, nearly returning to the 2018 peak (48,344) with an age-adjusted rate of 14.1 suicides per 100,000 population (compared to 14.2 in 2018).”
In addition, and most disturbing, “Suicide rates among persons aged 10–24 years increased significantly during 2018–2021 among Black persons (from 8.2 to 11.2; a 36.6 percent increase). Among those aged 25–44 years, rates increased significantly overall (5 percent) and among AI/AN (33.7 percent), Black (22.9 percent), Hispanic (19.4 percent), and non-Hispanic multiracial (20.6 percent) persons during the examined period.”
The CDC report further interprets the data, “These analyses demonstrate disparities in suicide rates among populations based on race and ethnicity and age group in the context of overall suicide rates nearly returning to their 2018 peak after two years of declines. Significant increases among young Black persons aged 10–24 years and across multiple racial and ethnic populations aged 25–44 years raise particular concern.”
In Mothers In Crisis, we believe that we can turn these statistics around through the Hope Pass It On and Save a Life Campaign utilizing the Practice of Hopeology. That is why April National Month of Hope is so important. It is a chance to not only bring awareness to social ills but also bring hope.
We are encouraging people from all 50 states, districts, and territories of America to acknowledge and celebrate hope during April by exploring creative ways to promote hope. We suggest that everyone everywhere plans events and promotions in April in honor of the month of hope. Hope can mean different things to different people, and we want to include everyone. Therefore, the Hope Pass It On Campaign is non-sectarian.
Please come out and help Mothers In Crisis to Kick-off the National Month of Hope on April 1 in Tallahassee, Fla. For more information please visit, www.makeahopeconnection.com.
Rosalind Tompkins, Ph.D. is author of “As Long As There Is Breath In Your Body, There Is Still Hope,” and other inspirational books. Tompkins is also founder of Turning Point International Church, the Chapel of Mothers In Crisis. She’s also founder of Turning Point International Alliance with ministries and churches in Pakistan, Nepal, Eswatini, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, and St. Vincent in the West Indies.
