At Rebecca Bennett’s dining table, conversations don’t stop at school updates or weekend plans. Her family talks about mental health as openly and naturally as they do about birthdays, report cards and interesting headlines.
“We talk about it all the time. It’s something we talk about in our house,” said Bennett, a Concord mother of six adopted children. “It’s a normal conversation because your brain is part of your body.”
Bennett’s oldest daughter, who had a traumatic early childhood in foster care, began struggling with her mental health at just six years old, when she first attempted suicide. By nine, she had made several attempts to take her own life.
As a parent, Bennett knew she had to find a way to help her daughter. Although her daughter had been in therapy even before Bennett and her husband adopted her, something was still missing, she said.
“It was truly the loneliest and most desperate feeling to be lost — to want to help your child but not be able to help your child,” Bennett said.
Searching for answers, Bennett enrolled in a class offered by the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire, or NAMI NH. From there, she dove deeper, taking more courses and learning about every resource available for her child’s mental health needs.
She learned how to navigate New Hampshire’s mental health system, access helplines and connect with peer support groups.
Today, her daughter is thriving — she is grown, engaged and living a full life.
Bennett’s family isn’t alone.
Jessica Renda, another Concord mother, said she has also learned the importance of open dialogue.
Her oldest daughter has had a lifelong battle with depression and suicidal ideation, requiring hospital visits, calls to crisis lines and intervention from first responders at their home.
“It has taken me a long time to accept that this is not something she will grow out of and to accept that a mental health illness is the same as a chronic physical illness,” said Renda at a press conference on suicide prevention awareness on Tuesday. “It is something she will live with her entire life, but it is manageable.”
While Renda and her daughter continue to rely on resources like the crisis line, she makes a point of checking in regularly and asking how her daughter is doing, even when the response is reluctance or an eye-roll.
“The more we talk about it, the easier it gets to talk about it,” said Renda. “If you know someone who’s struggling, talk with them, ask if they need help, give them the resources.”
At the same event, Gov. Kelly Ayotte declared September suicide prevention month.
She said the proclamation was more than just a symbol.
“It’s about saving lives, it’s about families, it’s about fighting stigma when it comes to mental health and it’s about reaching out to everyone we know to say it’s okay to come forward and ask for help and that we want to support you and be there for you,” Ayotte said.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young Granite Staters ages 15 to 34, according to the New Hampshire Council for Suicide Prevention.
In 2023 alone, the state Department of Health and Human Services recorded 221 suicide-related deaths.
The state has made strides in recent years through initiatives like Mission Zero, which is focused on ending the practice of holding psychiatric patients in emergency departments.
The effort brought more inpatient psychiatric beds, strengthened early intervention and focused on smooth transitions for those moving back into their communities.
Still, gaps in the state’s mental health infrastructure remain.
Bennett pointed out that while resources are better than when she first sought help for her daughter, there is an “extreme lack” of support for LGBTQ+ individuals and very few teen-focused support groups across New Hampshire.
“I feel like it’s important right now more than ever,” said Bennett. “We know that kids are struggling, and across the nation, there has been a decline in these services over the last six months. So, we certainly need to build what we can in New Hampshire to counter that.”
In 2024, community crisis centers across the state handled over 46,000 calls, texts and online chats.
Susan Stearns, executive director of NAMI NH, said that everyone has a “role to play in preventing suicide,” not just healthcare professionals.
Bennett agreed. Preventing suicide is a social responsibility, she said, one that should begin at a very young age, starting in kindergarten and continuing throughout a child’s education.
“I feel like this is something we need to be talking about all along the way,” said Bennet. “I think social and emotional learning is incredibly, incredibly important.”
If you need help
- National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
- NH Rapid Response Access Point: If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health and/or substance use crisis, call/text 1-833-710-6477 to speak to trained clinical staff.