Minot mental health dedicates September to suicide awareness Published Sept. 8, 2016 By Airman 1st Class Christian Sullivan Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- During the month of September the mental health office will be helping with suicide awareness every Friday. “On September 16th, 23rd and 30th, mental health will be at the BX between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for suicide awareness outreach,” said Capt. Danyele Kavakcioglu-Anderson, 5th Medical Operations Squadron social worker. “We will be having a table set up with mental health resources.” The goal of this outreach is to not only help prevent suicides on base and in the Air Force, but to educate people on the topic as well. “We want to bring suicide awareness and prevention to both Airmen and families to normalize the subject of suicide, reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking behaviors, recognize warning signs and risk factors, and inform about assisting resources such as, but not limited to, mental health, military family life consultants, chaplains, crisis hotlines and others,” Kavakcioglu-Anderson said. The mental health booth will also provide incentives to those who come and learn more about suicide prevention. “It is still in progress right now,” Kavakcioglu-Anderson said. “But we will hand out outreach materials and resources as well as goodie bags to the first 50 Airmen or families that come to our booth.” Mental health wants to put significance on one key thing in their efforts. “We want to put emphasis on consequences and the negative effects suicide can have on families, friends, the Air Force community and the Air Force’s mission,” Kavakcioglu-Anderson said. Seeking help is a sign of strength according to Kavakcioglu-Anderson and the rest of her team at mental health. Some resources for those in need are as follows: - Mental Health Clinic: 701-723-5527 (business hours 0730-1630, no weekends/holidays/training days) - Chaplain: 701-723-2456