St. Francis Mission Launches Suicide & Crisis Hotline

Sept. 4, 2012 - PRLog -- September is National Recovery Month which focuses on the societal benefits of treatment for substance use and mental disorders, celebrates people in recovery, shares the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that recovery in all its forms is possible. One organization, The St. Francis Mission located on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, is extending its efforts in addiction prevention and recovery with the launch of the Suicide & Crisis Hotline this summer.

The Rosebud Reservation is home to 20,000 Lakota (Sioux) people.  At least 80% of individuals living on the reservation suffer from, or are touched by, addiction to drugs and alcohol.  Nearly the same number is affected by suicide – either by the suicide of a friend or family member or has contemplated suicide themselves.

“There are nine suicides among the Lakota Sioux people of Rosebud Reservation for every one suicide in the U.S. majority population,” says Father John Hatcher, President of the St. Francis Mission, “From a population of about 20,000, we are now seeing about 400 suicide attempts each year, many successful.  The suicide problem on the Rosebud has reached epidemic proportions.”  

To help reverse, if not stop, the issue of suicide on the Rosebud, the St. Francis Mission launched the Suicide & Crisis Hotline earlier this year.  The Hotline:

•   Is available by calling (605) 319-1280
•   Is confidential and available 24/7
•   Offers individuals trained to help people considering suicide, in crisis, or those who know someone who is at risk
•   Also offers trained, confidential help on online via the messaging function of the

Suicide & Crisis Hotline Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SFMhotline
For more information or to interview a member of our staff for National Recovery Month, please contact Corrie Oberdin at coberdin@iridiangroup.com. To learn more about the Mission, visit http://www.sfmission.org, or visit us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/sfmission) or Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/thesfmission).

About the St. Francis Mission

St. Francis Mission is a ministry of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) among the 20,000 Lakota (Sioux) people on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota. It is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1886.  The purpose of the Mission is to re-evangelize Catholic Lakota people and bring the Gospel of Jesus the Christ to those who have not heard it. We respect the traditions of the Lakota people as we collaborate with them to meet the spiritual, educational, social, and physical needs of the community.

St. Francis Mission is the largest not-for-profit organization on the Rosebud Reservation that is not a governmental controlled or funded program.  Currently it supports work in six parishes, Icimani Ya Waste Recovery Center, the White River Recovery Center, religious education, the Buechel Memorial Lakota Museum, the St. Francis Mission Dental Clinic and KINI Radio 96.1 FM.  All work is done in cooperation with the Diocese of Rapid City.