Many families, including mine, have been devastated by suicides. It is a young life snatched away from us way before his or her time. Those of us who are left with this emptiness in our lives ponder the whys and whether we should have been more vigilant and whether there were signs we should have seen.

During the past year, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its challenges and isolation have been instrumental in causing more people in Pennsylvania and across the nation to take their own lives, according to national and regional research groups that delve into these issues.

Among the Northeast and Middle Atlantic States, Pennsylvania ranked third in 2020 in the incidence of suicides per 100,000 population at 10.8. Only Delaware and Maine were higher. New Jersey, on the other hand, was lowest in the nation at 8.6. Wyoming was the highest at 25.8.

All of the states in our part of the country come under the national average of 14.2 suicides per 100,000, and the objective of the United Health Foundation is to reduce that number to 12.8. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wanted to reduce the number of 10.2 by 2020, but only two counties in Pennsylvania - Centre and Philadelphia at 9.8 and 9.9, respectively - achieved the goal.

Carbon’s suicide rate is the highest in the state at 24.7 per 100,000 population, while Schuylkill’s is not far behind at 22.7, which is tied for third place behind Elk and Wyoming counties and even with Wayne.

As for the other three counties in the Times News area, Lehigh is 15.5; Northampton, 17.5; and Monroe, 17.6.

Nationwide, societal costs associated with suicide and suicide attempts were estimated at $93.5 billion.

In many homes, suicide is still not a topic of conversation among family members. As a result, it sometimes is an impediment that prevents people from reaching out for help before it is too late.

When someone commits suicide, the ripple effect runs incredibly deep - from family members to acquaintances and very often to the entire community. The hurt never fully goes away.

In Pennsylvania, the CDC reported that in 2019 suicides were the second leading cause of death among middle- and high school-aged youth. Not only that, but nearly one in five of our high school students told researchers that they had contemplated suicide within the previous 12-month period.

There is an average of more than 3,040 daily attempts at suicide by young people grades 9-12, according to the CDC. Four of five suicide deaths are preceded by warning signs such as suicidal threats, previous suicide attempts, preoccupation with death and depression.

What is really shocking is that suicide is one of the most preventable types of death, but it depends on recognizing signs and timely intervention.

The CDC reports that youth, especially, will often telegraph their intentions as they cry out for help, but, researchers warn, that this cry often is not direct but camouflaged. We need to be able to identify these signs and act decisively when we suspect or know that we see or hear them.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273 TALK (8255) operates 24/7 every day of the year. There is also an always available Crisis Text Line - 741741 - staffed with a trained crisis counselor. Both of these are strictly confidential and provided at no charge to the user. Calling 911 also gets fast action.

The Bo Tkach Memorial Foundation was created locally in Bo’s honor to raise awareness of obsessive compulsive disorder and other mental health issues, including suicide.

A 2001 graduate of Northern Lehigh High School where he was an outstanding athlete, Bo was active in his community but was beset by depression and obsessive compulsive disorder which ultimately led to the taking of his own life.

Begun by his parents, the foundation funds various youth programs and provides payment for underinsured youth to receive counseling that may otherwise be inaccessible. For information, email info@botkach.com.

It also advocates on behalf of the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Mental Health and Development Services with its hotline: 1-570-992-0879.

The Jason Foundation Inc. with headquarters in Henderson, Tennessee, and facilities across the country, including one in Reading, is dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide through educational and awareness programs that equip young people, educators, youth workers and parents with the tools and resources to identify and help at-risk young people. (615-264-2323)

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.