As suicide deaths rise in Butler County, survivors form a new organization

It’s moms’ night.

Lisa Smith’s kids don’t have school today because her husband is out of town. Even though she’s tired, she needs to make dinner. A box of mac and cheese is poured into a pot with the help of her daughter.

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She laughs because she knows they did something wrong.

Smith said, “There are times when I want to call her, but then I remember the truth.”

She eats an apple and plays with her 6-year-old daughter Remi in the other room.

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She said, “Mamaw is in heaven right now.” “And I miss her.”

Teresa Carpenter killed herself almost two years ago. While their new house was being built, Smith and her kids lived with Carpenter. The kids loved lying on the couch with her mom, she said.

Smith held up a photo cube in her living room and said, “She loved her grandchildren.” “She was very proud of them.”

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Carpenter was sick, though. Smith also tried a loss support group through church after she died. No one else was sad about the same kind of loss, so it didn’t work.

Then she found a program through the Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board.

This program might not be able to continue if a tax increase doesn’t pass soon. The executive head of the mental health board, Scott Rasmus, says that’s one reason Issue 12 was put on the ballot.

Rasmus said, “The number of suicides has gone up by 50%.” “When a family member or friend dies by suicide, there wasn’t really anywhere in the county where they could go and feel safe.”

The county auditor says that if the tax levy passes, it will bring in $6.6 million and cost people an extra $18 per $100,000 in value every year.

Jennifer MacLean, who runs the volunteer team for the Loss/Doss program, said, “Not everyone wants to talk about it.”

“You need to be with people who have been through the same thing as you, because people who haven’t don’t understand.”

MacLean’s husband died many years ago. A sister-in-law killed herself. She says that her family doesn’t talk about it a lot.

That’s what her team does, though. They go to places where a suicide is thought to have happened. They also keep in touch with family members to offer tools.

When Smith gets home, her kids play with their Halloween skeletons and ask what’s for dinner. They mix yogurt that looks brown together.

Smith said, “I am doing much better than I ever thought I would.” “When I joined Loss/Doss, I thought I would be helping other people, but it helped me a lot more.”

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She lights a candle for her mom in the living room and kisses her daughter. She says she’s okay with losing her husband.

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