Fabyonne Williams, a licensed professional counselor in Pittsburgh, spoke to students about mental health and suicide prevention on Tuesday, Sept. 26, when Waynesburg University held a mental health awareness and suicide prevention seminar in Stover Hall.

The event was presented by the Black Student Union on campus and their president, Ross Owens. 

“So Ross Owens, the president of the Black Student Union, was calling about suicide prevention because it is suicide prevention month, and there has been a major uptick in suicide for people of color, so it was his goal to get a licensed professional in to talk to the students,” Williams said.

As we reach the end of September, which is suicide prevention month, Owens was able to give students more information on suicide prevention and mental health awareness.

“So [Williams] is coming to talk about, generally, what everybody needs to know regarding mental health and suicide prevention. There are a lot of misconceptions out there. For some people it’s a taboo topic, for some it’s all they want to talk about, and they don’t know what they’re saying,Owens said. So to have a professional come in here and educate us on that topic, and specifically for mental health to minority people because we can be excluded from the statistics, so it’s really nice to have someone who has experience with those statistics and that population.

The presentation from Williams included tips to find warning signs, how to surround yourself with people who understand what you could be going through, and how to seek help for mental health tips. She talked to the audience a little more about what her presentation goals were.

“The goal of the presentation is to give warning signs, a trusted tribe, at least let us become one or be one to someone else, and to give prevention techniques, and also the resources if you need it. If you find yourself in a spiraling situation, somewhere you can go, and can not feel like you’re ostracized or it’s going to be stigmatized. So kind of to relieve the stigma,” Williams said.

Williams mentioned that her presentation centered around the fact that resourcing is very important. Whether it’s things to do or people to call, it is very important to know what resources you have available in a situation where one’s mental health has taken a toll.

“Resourcing is number one. That is, activities you can do to take your mind off of your stress or to take the black and white thinking and make it more gray. So you can find resources and ways to get out of situations when you feel like you arehopeless or you feel you’re just trapped in a situation. And there’s also other ways, there’s other solutions, there’s other people like 988, those emergency numbers and things like that. So that is the major goal, to put this in the hands of the students,” Williams said. 

Anyone who was not able to make it to the seminar but is dealing with mental health issues is encouraged to use any available resources, including the 988 suicide prevention hotline.