06/09/2026
SU***DE AWARENESS MONTH: STOP THE SILENCE. START TAKING RESPONSIBILITY.
We cannot keep attending funerals and pretending we did everything we could.
Su***de is not merely a personal tragedy. It is a warning that something is failing around the person who has lost hope. And if we continue to look away, stigmatise mental illness, ignore drug addiction and dismiss the emotional struggles of our young people, we become part of the problem.
Across our communities, too many young people are battling depression, hopelessness, loneliness, unemployment, poverty, family pressure, toxic expectations and substance abuse. Some are using drugs to numb pain they do not know how to express. Some are smiling in public while falling apart in private.
Behind the addiction may be pain.
Behind the rebellion may be rejection.
Behind the anger may be depression.
Behind the silence may be a desperate cry for help.
And yet, what do we often do?
We call them stubborn.
We call them lazy.
We call them spoilt.
We call them drug addicts.
We tell them to pray harder.
We tell them to be strong.
We tell them to stop disgracing the family.
But when did condemnation become a substitute for care?
GOVERNMENT MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
Mental health cannot remain an afterthought.
Government must invest in accessible mental-health services, prevention programmes, treatment and rehabilitation for substance-use disorders, trained professionals, community-based support systems and meaningful opportunities for young people.
We cannot tell young people to choose hope while giving them no pathway towards it.
COMMUNITIES MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
A community that only comes together to bury its children has already waited too long.
We must build communities where people can say “I am not okay” without being mocked, labelled or rejected.
Check on your neighbour.
Look out for vulnerable young people.
Challenge stigma.
Create safe spaces.
Speak up when you see someone struggling.
Community care must begin before the funeral, not after it.
PARENTS MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
Your child does not only need food, school fees and clothes.
They need your attention. They need your presence. They need to know they can talk to you without being judged.
Ask more than “Have you eaten?”
Ask:
“How are you coping?”
“What is troubling you?”
“Are you under pressure?”
“Is anyone hurting you?”
“Are you using drugs?”
“Do you feel safe?”
And when they answer, listen before you lecture.
Sometimes a child does not need another punishment. They need a parent who notices that they are drowning.
RELIGIOUS LEADERS MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
Our churches, mosques and other faith communities have enormous influence.
Let us stop reducing every mental-health struggle to a lack of faith.
Prayer and professional mental-health support do not have to compete. They can work together.
Religious leaders must preach hope, challenge stigma, recognise warning signs, encourage professional help and create safe spaces where people can speak honestly about depression, addiction, trauma and suicidal thoughts.
A sermon should never make a struggling person feel that their pain is a spiritual failure.
AND ALL OF US MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
Su***de prevention is not the responsibility of psychologists and doctors alone.
It belongs to government, families, communities, schools, religious institutions, civil society, health workers, traditional leaders and every citizen.
We must stop asking:
“Why didn’t they tell anyone?”
And start asking:
“Why didn’t we notice?”
Let us stop waiting for someone to die before we acknowledge that they were suffering.
Let us stop glorifying silence.
Let us stop treating mental illness as weakness.
Let us stop normalising drug abuse among young people.
Let us stop telling people to simply “be strong” when they are desperately asking for help.
THIS IS OUR WAKE-UP CALL.
SEE THEM.
HEAR THEM.
BELIEVE THEM.
SUPPORT THEM.
CONNECT THEM TO HELP.
PROTECT THEM.
Because every su***de prevented is a life, a family, a future and a community preserved.
We cannot change the past. But we can refuse to repeat it.
NO MORE SILENCE.
NO MORE STIGMA.
NO MORE LOOKING AWAY.
LET US BUILD A SIERRA LEONE WHERE ASKING FOR HELP IS NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS—BUT A SIGN OF COURAGE.
Su***de prevention is not somebody else’s responsibility.
IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY.
Samuel POV Macauley
Director of Operations and Programmes
OneFamilyPeople Sierra Leone
***deAwarenessMonth ***dePrevention
