Save A Life Today is a new local nonprofit organization that seeks to prevent suicide and help those bereaved by suicide in the Kern County community.

The organization was formed on May 8 by a group of five board members led by Kern County Mental Health substance abuse specialist and suicide prevention educator Ellen J. Eggert. All five members, including Eggert, are survivors of suicide loss and have worked together in the past advocating and raising funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Today, their advocacy remains local, as 100 percent of funds raised through SALT will stay within Kern County.

“We know the need for suicide prevention in Kern County,” Eggert said. “We know the prevention movement is powered by people who lost loved ones to suicide, so some local survivors got together and said ‘Let’s pull us together and let’s form our own nonprofit.’”

With the help of a friend, Eggert was able to complete all paperwork as well as the organization’s fictitious business statement in September, enabling the organization to officially begin its movement.

Prior to the completion of all of the paperwork, however, SALT was already an active organization in the community. An event created in memory of actor Robin Williams, who died by suicide on Aug. 11, was held 11 days after his death. The event was supported by local drive-in Cinertain at the Kern County Museum, and it consisted of a viewing of the 1991 film “Hook,” which stars Williams as an adult Peter Pan.

In attendance was SALT treasurer and board member Pat Mahan, who acknowledged she had never seen the film before. In regard to Williams’ death, she said, “That was really very difficult, because you think the people that have it all, that things like that don’t happen to them, but it does. It opened people’s eyes. It made people more aware of suicide and people were actually talking about it … They actually said the word.”

The board has held only one meeting so far and has plans to continue meeting once every month. They have yet to decide on future events, but ideas to help spread awareness are in the works.

One idea consists of something as simple as coasters. These coasters are to be distributed at all the local bars, and on the coasters will be the number to the KCMH crisis hotline, which “provides 24/7 crisis and suicide intervention for individuals of all ages.” One other resource on the coasters may or may not include the interactive mental health campaign mantherapy.org. Distributing coasters to bars will help SALT reach adult males, whose suicide rates run high.

“About 79 percent of all suicides are done by men,” Eggert said. “And we know that sometimes, a lot of times, men turn to alcohol, so something as simple as [coasters] wouldn’t cost a lot of money, but what awareness we could raise just by putting those in all the bars.”

Though the organization is its own entity and separate from KCMH, establishing community partnerships with other organizations that seek to reduce the stigma associated with suicide and mental illness is something that the board wishes to attain.

“It’s a community effort,” Eggert said. “We don’t want to stand alone.”

SALT will attend health fairs as well as other events to help raise awareness and provide the community with resources regarding suicide and suicide prevention. Currently, through Facebook, SALT offers a suicide awareness training called QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade and Refer and is an emergency response to someone in crisis. This one-hour training will be made available at no cost to those interested. Making this training more publicly available will enable SALT to reach a lot of people, helping reduce the rate of suicide in Kern County.

“Becoming suicide aware, I really believe, is the number one thing,” Eggert said. “This training takes an hour and it’s free so you don’t have to worry about cost— just take one hour out of your busy schedule to help prevent suicide.”

According to Eggert, last year the number of teen suicides in Kern County reached a total of nine. Currently, from the first of January to today, that number sits at five. In college students, suicide is the second-leading cause of death.

“So why aren’t we talking about it,” Eggert asked.

Despite the tragedy behind the cause, Eggert has found starting the organization fulfilling.

“Suicide is preventable,” she said. “Most of the people involved in this group already have lost a loved one to suicide and they don’t want anybody else to go through what they’ve been through.

“You never get over the loss, you get through it; and you know you’ve got to find good out of every tragedy, and if it’s going on to help somebody else, that’s what we’re here for. You have to be hopeful about something and if we can prevent one family from going through this or be there for a family that is going through this …Wow, what a gift that we can give.”

Contact information as well as instructions on donating may be found at the organization’s website at www.saltkc.com.