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YOUNGSTOWN -- Thursday marked World Suicide Prevention Day, and officials in Mahoning County took the opportunity to raise awareness of how the issue impacts local residents.
Duane Piccirilli, Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board executive director, said the county has seen 24 suicides in 2026 so far, roughly on pace with the 36 total suicide deaths last year.
The most persistent trend in the numbers is that men, mostly those age 50 and over, still represent a disproportionate number of suicides in the county -- roughly 79%.
"We're looking at trends and trying to see what's there, and right now that's all we know," he said. "Traditionally, we see a lot of the attention on teenagers. They were the high-risk group up until a few years ago, and they still are an at-risk group, largely because of social media."
A spreadsheet of county suicide statistics dating back to 2021 shows that 156 of the 197 suicide deaths among Mahoning County residents were men. Men also accounted for 97 of the 112 suicides in which a gun was used.
While that tracks with the broader body of historical research data on suicide, Piccirilli said a new trend has emerged alongside it.
"We're also seeing it as the predominant method used by women, which is uncommon," he said. "Women traditionally tended to use less violent methods. It doesn't mean their attempts are less serious, but they didn't use guns nearly as much as men."
The county's data showed that guns were used in 57% of suicides and hanging was second most common, with 51 deaths, or 26%.
Among age groups, suicides occurred most commonly among those 30-39 and 50-59, with 37 in each class. People 20-29 were close behind with 35.
Nearly half of suicide victims were single -- 94 of 197, or 48%, while 60 (30%) were married, and 27 (13.7%) divorced. Thirty-five Mahoning County residents, or about 18%, were veterans.
Suicide is also disproportionately more common among white residents (174 deaths) than black residents (23).
While men are leading the data, suicides among women still rose sharply in 2024: 14 compared with five to eight in each of the other complete years.
The 2026 age distribution also is noticeably older -- 11 of the 24 county residents who have died were between 60 and 79.
Geographically, Youngstown had 60 suicides, Boardman 31 and Austintown 30.
Nonresidents also have been overly represented in recent years, by comparison. In 2021 Mahoning County handled a total of 41 cases, of which 37 were county residents. In 2022, the county saw 43 suicides overall, of which 39 were residents. But in 2023 and 2024, the Mahoning County Coroner's Office saw 11 and 13 nonresident suicides, respectively. Last year there were seven, and there are six so far this year. Officials are not sure why.
"I don't think we could give a definitive explanation based on the data we currently have. We would probably need to look more closely at where those individuals lived and the circumstances surrounding the deaths before we could draw a conclusion," said MHRB program coordinator Lee DeVita. "I think it's a good question, though, and something we can take a closer look at."
LEADING CAUSES
What the numbers do not show is substance abuse as a leading contributor to suicide.
"It really has not played a considerable role in the cases we've seen," he said.
Drugs as a means of suicide are still represented in the data, although not as much as they once might have been. Drug-toxicity deaths peaked at nine in 2024, then dropped to two in 2025.
From 2021 through 2025, 26 Mahoning County suicides, or 13%, were attributed to multidrug or single-drug toxicity. Multidrug toxicity accounted for 23 of those 26 deaths.
Piccirilli said the coroner's office can usually determine whether drug toxicity was intentional or accidental.
The data still shows women disproportionately represented: 14 of 41 female suicides, or 34%, involved drug toxicity, compared with 12 of 156 male deaths, or 8%.
Through Sept. 3, 2026, seven of 24 resident deaths, or 29%, involved multidrug toxicity and one involved single-drug toxicity.
What drives the data is an old story, said DeVita: mental health stigma, especially among men.
Piccirilli and DeVita say suicidal residents often visit their primary care physicians in the weeks and months before their deaths, and there are stark differences in what they discuss.
"The guys more than the girls will describe sleep issues, pain, anger, even substance abuse.
But guys are less likely to say they are depressed, that they're suffering from anxiety," he said.
He said the age gap also bears this out -- anxiety conversations and, subsequently, meaningful treatment for anxiety and depression, are far less common among older adults, which is why the recent trend leans heavily toward men 50 and older.
"We're seeing the evidence that talking about it reduces the stigma, with younger generations, but with older generations, that stigma is still there," DeVita said. "We want to be able to show that it's OK for guys to have it, and to talk about it."
DeVita said anxiety and depression treatment is healthcare -- just like anything else.
"Taking medication for anxiety is the same as if you have diabetes or heart disease," he said.
Piccirilli and DeVita said they are doing what they can to mitigate the problem. They are trying to get gun locks into people's hands, in a collaboration with the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office. Piccirilli said the next step is to get 988 (suicide hotline) posters put up in gun stores.
He said his agency also regularly provides QPR (Question-Persuade-Refer) training to local agencies and businesses, to help staff recognize suicidal behavior among co-workers.
While intervening and offering support are critical, awareness of the symptoms is still an essential part of identifying who needs intervention.
Piccirilli said that one of the more common misunderstandings is that people who talk about death are unlikely to attempt suicide. More recent studies have shown just the opposite. "When someone starts talking about death or suicide a lot, that often means they're normalizing it, and that should not be ignored," he said. Withdrawing from friends, giving away valuables, and even changes in sleep patterns can be precursors to an attempt.
Piccirilli said there's another side to the story -- those left behind in the aftermath.
He told county commissioners Thursday that every suicide affects roughly 135 other people, including the victim's family and friends.
He said the county's suicide fatality review committee is always assessing what went wrong when a case comes before them. The committee -- composed of MHRB, the Youngstown and Mahoning County health departments, Coroner's Office, and Mahoning County Sheriff's Office -- reviews every suicide case to see what they can learn about how to better intervene in time.
"Not every suicide can be prevented, but most can," he said.
While that truth may be comforting and encouraging for professionals seeking to find better solutions, it can often be devastating for families and friends who feel like they failed a loved one.
Piccirilli said those people need support, too, and they mostly need to know they don't deserve the guilt.
"They probably did everything they could. You can't get into someone's head, you don't know what might trigger them at the last minute," he said. "And you can't watch them 24 hours a day.
People can be in a state mental health facility and they still take their lives."
For those who survive suicide attempts and those mourning the ones who did not, the county provides support. Volunteers go and sit with families of suicide victims and help guide them through their grief. Mahoning County MHRB also partners with the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and Jewish Family and Community Services to run a Survivors of Suicide Support Group. Those in need can contact or more information contact Laura Haas at 330-746-7929, Ext. 243, or lhaas@jewishyoungstown.org.