Valley moms join forces to prevent teen suicide

PHOENIX - A group of moms from the Valley is taking it upon themselves to find ways to prevent teen suicide. They've formed an organization called Parents for Suicide Prevention and they're on a mission to pass out doorknob flyers with the warning signs all over the Valley.

These moms are on a mission as they work to put hangars on as many doorknobs as they can across the Valley.  They do this to prevent suicide. They're all mothers of late teens and early 20 year olds and seeing their kids' friends struggle during hard times made them think they needed to do more.

"We don't know if it's going to touch [anyone]," said Karianna Blanchard with Parents for Suicide Prevention. "If it saves one life, if it gives someone hope in the morning or the evening. We started seeing through meeting with the schools and the students that there was a disconnect."

The momos used this knowledge after their friend's son, Mitchell Warnock, died by suicide when he was 18-years-old. They worked with Senator Boey to pass the Warnock Act, making it so school employees were required to do suicide prevention training. 

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, suicide is the 8th leading cause of death for males and the 11th cause for females in the state.

"We are losing our kids in our community and that affects all of us - everybody," Blanchard said.

They came up with the idea of these doorknobs hoping to raise awareness on what to look out for and how someone in need can get help.

"You never know who you're going to [see and] say, 'Hey, are you doing alright?' and if they aren't, here are the resources," Blanchard said.

They say all of this work is worth it if they can just save one life.

"Everyone just wants hope," Blanchard said. "It's going to take all of us."

The moms need your help to spread these out across the Valley. If you would like to be a part of this, all you have to do is email Blanchard and they will print them for you.