Mental Health & Recovery Board Dedicates Reflection Garden, Gazebo

MINERAL RIDGE, Ohio – The Mahoning County Mental Health & Recovery Board staff honored International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day with the dedication of the reflection garden and gazebo at the Mahoing Valley Campus of Care.

The board developed the reflection garden in collaboration with the Western Reserve Port Authority. Sunstone Garden of Struthers designed the gazebo and will plant the flowers around it. Irisa Green, owner of Sunstone Garden, picked various colors of roses for the garden to represent values such as friendship, family and love.

The space will provide a quiet, reflective setting for loved ones to walk or sit and reflect on peaceful memories of those they have lost.

The speakers at Saturday’s dedication ceremony included Duane Piccirilli, executive director of the Mahoning County Mental Health & Recovery Board; Lee DeVita, program coordinator for the board; and Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti.

“With the increase of numbers in suicide deaths in Mahoning County, we knew that there was a need for something like this to not only raise awareness, but to show those who have lost someone to suicide that there is a place to go and support is available to them,” Piccirilli said.

During the ceremony, 50 yellow flags could be seen around the speakers. The flags represented the 50 suicide deaths in Mahoning County this year. In 2023, Mahoning County saw 53 total deaths by suicide.

“We’re on track to possibly see another record year for suicides in Mahoning, unfortunately,” DeVita said. “What we’re seeing with these deaths is that trends have changed. The overall ages have lowered; the means have become more violent. We hope that doing something small like this can get more people talking and get them help.”

Potted flowers and garden cosmos were donated by Flying High Inc. and given to those in attendance. The garden cosmos is known for its resilience and ability to prosper in any setting, representing those who have lost someone close to them from suicide.

“Research shows that for every suicide, 135 people are affected. This means that right here in Mahoning County, 6,750 people won’t have a loved one, friend or family member at the table during the holidays this year,” Piccirilli said.

Pictured at top: From left are Irisa Green, owner of Sunstone Garden; Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti; Duane Piccirilli, executive director of the Mahoning County Mental Health & Recovery Board; Valerie Leach of the Office of Prevention Services, Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services; and Lee DeVita, program coordinator for the Mahoning County Mental Health & Recovery Board.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.