Substance Abuse Legislation in Virginia: an interview with John O’Bannon and John Shinholser

On today’s show, John O’Bannon, Delegate from Henrico County and John Shinholser from the McShin Foundation talk about upcoming bills for substance abuse services and Naloxone in the Virginia general assembly.

You can listen to the episode here

Resources:

WRIR blog

McShin Foundation

Richmond Behavioral Health Authority

Henrico Mental Health and Developmental Services.

Advocates for Virginia Youth- LGBTQ Homelessness

We continue our series on the impact of prejudice and discrimination on the mental health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer individuals. Today, we invite Alex Wagaman and advocates of Richmond youth: Aiyanna and Aaron to discuss the prevalence and impact of homelessness on youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.

Last week we started the series talking about the impact of prejudice on the mental health of LGBTQ individuals and the impact of prejudice and discrimination that results in lack of access to appropriate medical care. Today we are focusing on homelessness among youth and young adults.

Listen to today’s episode here

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Find more information here:https://www.facebook.com/advocatesforrichmondyouth

Contact mawagaman@vcu.edu if you would like to get involved

Revisiting Suicide

Today’s episode we are revisiting suicide with special guest, Shirley Ramsey of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. Shirley talks about the organization, events and resources in the Richmond area, as well as shares her story  about being a survivor of suicide. We’ll hear from Jenn Gallienne giving us statistics of suicide in our country as well as who it is impacting. Also, we’ll speak to area service providers in  Richmond  about their experiences with this topic.

You can listen to the episode  here

Recovery and Suicide

Today’s episode we are discussing emerging innovative programs to help those who are having suicidal thoughts. Our guests today are representatives of agencies collaborating to enhance responses to those at risk for suicide. Through their combined efforts, they are creating a more systematic approach to helping our community.

A recent suicide by a celebrity has brought this issue to national attention. However, suicide is a daily occurrence and is, according to the CDC, the 10th leading cause of death. They report that in 2010 there were 38,364 suicides in the US – an average of 105 a day or 1 every 15 minutes – There were 1,067 suicides in Virginia in 2011 – above the national average. They occurred most frequently with males (78 percent), whites (87 percent) and people age 45-54 years old (23 percent).Yet females have a higher rate of thinking about suicide. Over 30% of suicides test positive for alcohol, 23% for antidepressants, and almost 21% for opiates.

Guests:

Kelly Ferguson from The Richmond Behavioral Health Authority

Larry Barnett from Chesterfield Mental Health

Michael Bender from Richmond Police Department

Kimberly Wilson from Tucker Pavilion.

You can listen to the episode here