NORFOLK, Va. — September marks National Suicide Prevention Month. It’s a time for awareness, fighting stigma, and reminding people that help exists. 

Dr. Alicia Tetteh said suicide is an issue that continues to affect thousands of American families each year.

 “The numbers are staggering. Suicide is still the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.,” she said. “We want to keep having conversations. We want to let people know that they matter, that there is support out there, and it’s important to have this awareness month so we can continue to work against the stigma around people being uncomfortable even talking about suicide.”

Tetteh is an assistant professor at Norfolk State University, a therapist, and the founder of Building Endurance, a mental health services group in Norfolk.

She said her mission is to create space for people to feel seen and heard, and to change the conversation surrounding mental wellness.

“Our focus is to really help decrease the stigma around mental health,” she said. “We do that through a variety of ways: offering outpatient therapy services, offering programming for nonprofits and for-profits, as well as being a training space for students who are enrolled in school.” 

Tetteh said raising awareness about mental wellness remains a critical mission, especially since stigma prevents many from reaching out for help.

“There is still a label in different communities of not wanting to be labeled as ‘crazy.’ There’s this assumption that, ‘If I go to therapy, if I seek services, people are going to deem me to be crazy.’ What I want people to hear and know is that, any of us can be impacted by mental health,” she said.

“I don’t even like to use the word ‘crazy,’ but something can happen that can activate us and we can have an emotional response to it. So, seeking out therapy can be a preventative measure, and can also help just facing the day-to-day things that take place in your life.”

Tetteh said it’s important to prioritize your mental health, and it’s ok to talk about it. It can start with something as simple as asking for support from friends or family when you need it.

“There is a strength in being vulnerable,” she said. “I really want — even leaders and I want the strong friend of the group to really hear me say that — there’s nothing wrong with saying to someone, ‘I need some extra support. I need somebody to talk to. I need to vent.’”

Members of the military can also face unique challenges that impact mental health. With Hampton Roads being home to many veterans and active duty service members, Tetteh said mental wellness and suicide prevention awareness are critical for those groups as well.

She pointed to figures from the Annual Report on Suicide of the Military that showed more than 500 service members died by suicide in 2023.

“I have a strong passion for veterans because my mother and my stepfather are veterans,” she said. “We’re talking about another layer of stigma there in a group where they are the protectors. Their role is to serve and to protect; And so I think there’s this added layer of, ‘There can’t be anything wrong with me, because people are looking to me to take care of them.'” 

Tetteh said reaching out to minorities also played a role in launching Building Endurance. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), Black people are less likely to receive “receive guideline-consistent care” and more likely to go to the emergency room or primary care, than a mental health specialist. 

“It’s important to see different faces in the space,” Dr. Tetteh said. “Clients want to be able to locate providers that look like them. When I first started the practice nine years ago, that was my whole mission: to train other Black and brown therapists to make sure that people of color were able to again connect with the therapist that they can feel comfortable with.” 

For information on resources at Building Endurance, visit their website.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. You can also visit their website at https://988lifeline.org.