Fifteen Colorado Springs young people died by suicide in 2016, followed by 15 more in 2020. These numbers have since decreased, but with the number of suicides higher than ever in the U.S., local leaders are calling for action.

“Suicide in our city, county and state is an epidemic,” said the Rev. Matt Holcombe of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, where two members took their lives in the year after he arrived in 2020.

“Suicide impacts people of every age, and the church is one of the few intergenerational institutions remaining in our society,” he said. “How can we step with faith into that space and help people have different conversations” about a difficult topic that has been “stigmatized for centuries?”

St. Michael’s is one of a handful of Colorado churches responding to the suicide epidemic by hosting free, one-day SoulShop workshops that train religious leaders in how their faith communities can care for people’s minds and bodies as well as their souls.

“It’s important for people to do the difficult work that it takes to walk beside people who are not well because that’s what Jesus did,” Holcombe said.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month.

Equipping churches

David Galvan, an executive and trainer with SoulShop, has led more than 20 workshops for church leaders over the past two years, training them be better equipped to minister to people experiencing suicidal desperation. It’s the only faith-based training approved by the American Foundation for Suicide.

“Our ultimate goal in training is to move people from quiet desperation to honest conversations about suicidal desperation,” said Galvan, who ministered to family and friends of local suicide victims in 2016 and has led the faith community subcommittee of the Youth Suicide Prevention Workgroup of El Paso County since 2017. He’s also vice president of the Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Board.

“I knew that if I could get good training and info into the faith community, which has sometimes been hesitant to do any type of suicide prevention, it could work,” he says, an opinion confirmed by testimonies of those who have been trained.

SoulShop helps people be more sensitive to comments people make that indicate they’re considering suicide. Galvan says a congregation of 200 souls might have 12 souls troubled enough to contemplate killing themselves.

Biblical examples

The training covers incidences of suicide and other mental health challenges in the Bible.

Galvan also attacks nonbiblical spiritual notions that can bind members in guilt and frustrate churches’ efforts to promote mental health. He’s a harsh critic of inspirational bromides such as, “God never gives you more than you can handle.” He says such comments, even if well-intended, can hurt people who feel they are facing more than they can handle.

The workshops aren’t intended to instantly transform church leaders into mental health professionals, but to give people the information and insights they will need to help others toward life-saving solutions.

“Imagine a world without CPR,” Galvan says, referring to the millions of Americans who have been trained to perform the emergency lifesaving procedure when someone’s heart stops beating. “There would be a lot more dead people.”

He dreams of the day when every pastor, youth worker, lay minister and millions of other Americans are trained to help save the lives of those who lose the will to live.

“God’s kingdom is like a tapestry,” he said, “and if all the churches and denominations can work together, we can become a city where no one is alone and no one loses hope.”

Free workshops

An Ohio pastor named Russ Crabtree began offering pastors workshops on mental health and suicide in the mid-2000s. SoulShop was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Arkansas. Galvan is one of 30 SoulShop trainers nationwide.

The organization offers a range of workshops for leaders, Black churches, Hispanic churches, youth leaders, campus leaders and faith communities as well as a Mental Health First Aid for youth.

Three free leader workshops are scheduled for Colorado in coming months. Galvan says you don’t need to be a card-carrying pastor to attend.

For information and registration, go to soulshopmovement.org/upcoming.

• Tuesday: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., John Wesley Ranch, Divide

• Oct. 21: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 7400 Tudor Road

• Nov. 6: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Trinity Church, Edwards, west of Vail

If you are considering suicide and need help, reach out to 844-493-8255 or Text “TALK” to 38255

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David Galvan

Soul Shop_Gazette_Slide_3C.jpegSoul Shop_Gazette_Slide_2B.jpegCourtesy Photo

David Galvan speaks during a SoulShop workshop. The workshops train religious leaders in how faith communities can care for people’s minds as well as their souls.

Courtesy Photos