On Nov. 17, Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore reported a record number of suicide deaths for Anderson, South Carolina.

Anderson County has reported 55 deaths by suicide, the “highest number ever documented,” according to a media release from Shore. At the same time last year, the county had reported only 28 suicides.

The ages of suicide-related deaths this year range from 16 to 87. The county urges people to check in on loved ones and friends because “early connection and support can play a critical role in saving lives.”

Additionally, suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, according to Clemson University’s Student Health Services (SHS) page.

Pickens County, the county that Clemson University resides in, has reported the “highest combined 5-year suicide death rate per 100,000 population from 2013-2017 and from 2012-2016” in the entire state, according to Resolution 2021-19. This resolution recognized September 2021 as National Suicide Prevention Month in Pickens County.

According to 2018 data, white males ages 45 to 64 are the most at-risk group within South Carolina. Prior to 2018, the state’s suicide rate had increased by 18% in 10 years. Since 1999, suicide deaths have doubled statewide.

“To see these rates is chilling and should not be taken lightly … I want to say how serious it is to reach out to your community,” Alisa Wharton, co-president of IfYoureReadingThis Clemson, said in a statement.

IfYoureReadingThis is a mental health nonprofit that focuses on empowering students to utilize their support networks and seeks to amplify “the faces and voices of the people who want to connect.”

Wharton discussed the importance and mission of the organization, saying that it aims to “bridge the gap between unheard voices and the sharing of stories,” but that the group would be “nothing without the writers, the people, our Clemson Tigers, who are vulnerable enough.”

“We are suicide prevention. We are the ones who can make a difference on and off college campuses. We are how these statistics can start to decrease because they need to change,” Wharton told The Tiger.

Wharton encourages anyone within and outside the Clemson community to share with the organization if they feel comfortable doing so, “because suicide prevention takes advocacy, awareness, communication, and connection.”

Anyone seeking to submit a letter or learn more about the organization can read letters from the Clemson community on its social media and visit this link to submit.

Tigers Together is Clemson University’s initiative that tackles suicide prevention. It seeks to prevent suicide by “decreasing risk factors, enhancing protective factors, facilitating gatekeeper workshops, … and reducing stigma.”

The Tigers Together Advocate Training program is an experiential program consisting of workshops that train students to become advocates who can effectively respond to students’ needs and “increase the likelihood of meaningful connection.”

Clemson University Counseling and Psychological Services provides psychiatry, counseling for alcohol and other substances, and relationship and sexual violence counseling. Visit the CAPS website to learn more about available resources and call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, for 24/7 free, confidential support.