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There are some topics communities avoid because they feel too heavy. Suicide is one of them. But silence does not protect people. Compassionate conversation can.

In 2024, 1,168 Hoosiers died by suicide, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Indiana’s suicide rate decreased slightly from 2023 to 2024, but the number remains heartbreaking because every statistic represents a person, a family, and a community changed forever.

The local numbers matter too. In Bartholomew County, suicide deaths increased from 10 in 2023 to 17 in 2024, according to the same state report. Because county-level rates based on fewer than 20 deaths are considered statistically unstable, the state does not publish a stable rate for Bartholomew County, but the increase in count is still a serious community signal.

One of the most striking facts is who is most at risk. In Indiana, the 2024 suicide rate among males was 27.6 per 100,000, more than four times higher than the rate among females, 6.0 per 100,000. Firearms accounted for 65.3% of Indiana suicide deaths in 2024.

That matters in communities like ours, where people may be private, self-reliant, and hesitant to say they are struggling. Many people who are at risk do not say, “I am suicidal.” They may say, “I’m tired,” “Everyone would be better off without me,” “I can’t do this anymore,” or “I feel like a burden.”

Amanda Stropes, LCSW, Behavioral Health Director at WindRose Health Network, encourages families to be direct. “It is okay to ask someone directly, ‘Are you thinking about suicide?’ That question does not put the idea in someone’s head. It opens a door. It tells the person, ‘You are not too much for me. I can handle this conversation, and I want you to stay.’”

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and other prevention organizations emphasize that asking directly, listening without judgment, reducing access to lethal means, staying with the person, and connecting them to help are key steps in suicide prevention. The Indiana report also reinforces that ongoing prevention and intervention are essential to reduce the impact of suicide across the state.

This is not only a clinical issue. It is a community issue. Check on the farmer who has been quiet. Check on the teen who stopped showing up. Check on the veteran who says he is “fine.” Check on the caregiver, the widow, the new mother, the single dad, the laid-off worker, the person who laughs the loudest but seems exhausted.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. If someone is thinking about suicide, experiencing emotional distress, or facing a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988. Help is available 24/7.

The question that feels uncomfortable may be the question that saves a life.

References: Indiana Department of Health; American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.