If there is one thing SpeakUp ReachOut would like you to know during the month of September, it is that you do not have to be a mental health professional to make a difference in someone’s life. September is National Suicide Prevention Month and SpeakUp ReachOut is offering 13 free trainings and events throughout the month for community members to get involved and learn how to provide hope to someone in need.

Happy Hour get-togethers — often conducted vitually during our COVID-19 days — have become a touchstone for lots of isolated folks. With that in mind, SpeakUp ReachOut, the Eagle River Valley’s suicide prevention coalition, has a plan to transform happy hour into an opportunity to give everyone a mental health boost with its first-ever Hope Hour event.

In recent weeks, SpeakUp ReachOut has received a lot of questions about the number of deaths by suicide we have in our county. People want to know how that compares to COVID-19 deaths. Thus far, Eagle County has seen…