In Montgomery County, Ohio, five colorful murals now stand as quiet monuments to hope—each one a gateway, via QR code, to mental health support that reaches residents where they are. As May marks Mental Health Awareness Month across the nation, organizations here are moving beyond awareness campaigns into concrete action, rolling out resources and pushing back against the silence that too often surrounds mental illness.
The work matters urgently. Mental health crises don't wait for convenient moments, which is precisely why the ADAMHS Board and the Montgomery County Prevention Coalition have made it their mission to strip away barriers to care. Colleen Oakes, director of communications and strategic initiatives at ADAMHS, frames it simply: the more people talk about mental health, the more comfortable they become seeking treatment. It's a philosophy backed by measurable results.
The numbers tell a striking story. Between 2024 and 2025, Montgomery County saw a 19% decrease in suicide deaths, with the count dropping from 93 deaths in 2024 to 75 in 2025. That decline didn't happen by accident. It's tied directly to expanded access to resources like 988, the national suicide and crisis lifeline, which has become a lifeline in the truest sense. "About 80 to 90 percent of those calls are resolved over the phone, but we do have a mobile unit here locally that if the call is not able to get resolved over the phone, they can dispatch our mobile unit to you for support," Oakes explained.
Recognizing warning signs is crucial for friends and family members who want to help. Oakes points to subtle but significant shifts in behavior: when someone stops participating in activities they once enjoyed, or begins withdrawing from friends and family members they typically spend time with. These aren't dramatic moments—they're quiet departures from baseline, easy to miss if you're not paying attention, and yet deeply revealing.
The Montgomery County Prevention Coalition has been particularly creative in meeting people halfway. Those five community murals with embedded QR codes represent a blend of art and accessibility. They're impossible to ignore and impossible to dismiss as clinical or institutional. They're invitations, placed where people already walk and gather, designed to make seeking help feel like a natural part of community life rather than an exceptional act of desperation.
This May, the ADAMHS Board launched its own campaign with a direct message: "Stigma is Out of Style." It's a phrase that captures the essential shift happening in Montgomery County—from hushed shame to open conversation, from siloed services to integrated community support. The murals, the 988 line, the mobile crisis units, the awareness month itself—they all work together to signal the same thing: you're not alone, and help is real.
For residents struggling or watching loved ones struggle, the resources are there. A visit to the Montgomery County Prevention Coalition's website connects people to the full spectrum of local support. In an age when mental health disorders remain among the leading causes of suffering, and suicide correlates directly with untreated illness, having a coherent system of care—visible, accessible, and human—isn't just nice. It's life-saving.