COLUMBUS — Suicide and its relationship to the workplace is an issue that is gaining more attention from the state, with more resources available for employers wishing to address it.

Sandy Williams, president of Family Advocates for Suicide Prevention and organizer of the local suicide awareness event Jerry’s Walk, participated Thursday in a conference with Cardinal Health and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to discuss what is available to facilitate healthy discussions about suicide and suicidal thoughts, how to respond to someone in a mental health crisis, and how to remove the stigma of suicide and mental health.

Williams spoke about her father, Jerry Williams, an executive with Kroger who died by suicide 12 years ago.

“Today should have been his 87th birthday. Sunday, we’ll hold a walk in his honor in Belmont County. We have a charity called Jerry’s Walk,” she said, recalling how she felt upon hearing the news of his death. “I had staff there, and they didn’t know what to do. … At the time, there was no support from our company, no support to tell my staff where to go and what to do.”

She said with every suicide there are minimum of six people directly impacted by the loss of life, as well as extended family, friends, neighbors and coworkers in a “ripple effect.”

Williams was vice president of a large Columbus corporation at the time and said she coped with the loss by wearing a “mask” when returning to work.

“I couldn’t talk about it at work,” she said.

Williams said her father did not fit the stereotypes of someone who was suicidal.

“He was such a fabulous man,” she said. “He was not down on his luck or an alcoholic or all those kind of tropes put out there about suicide,” she said.

Williams reflected on the lack of support.

“Everything changed for the rest of my life, and I know people had to see that. There had to be a difference in me. You can only pretend for so long. But there was never, ever any recognition of my loss by my employer. That told me about my culture at work,” she said.

She also wrestled with other questions, such as whether she would be judged for using the company’s insurance for grief counseling.

“I honestly felt like a shouldn’t mention what had happened when I was at work,” she said.

During the conference, she was joined by Ola Snow, chief Human Resources officer at Cardinal Health, Lori Criss, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and Tony Coder, executive director of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.

They spoke about the demographics of individuals who die by suicide, noting five people die daily by suicide in Ohio, with the majority being middle-aged men. They pointed out the time spent at work and the importance of creating a culture without a stigma against speaking of mental health issues. They also mentioned the increasing number of college graduates and job seekers who expect to speak freely about mental health issues.

“You don’t have to be an expert in this stuff, and nobody’s asking you to be an expert, it’s just asking folks to understand the warning signs,” Williams said.

She and other panelists likened this to learning to perform CPR in the workplace.

They also mentioned the 988 counseling number that people can dial to connect with suicide prevention help. The line receives 10,000 calls, chats and texts monthly.

Toolkits and resources can be found at the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation’s website, ospf.org, as well as the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s website at ohiochamber.com.

This will be the seventh year of Jerry’s Walk, set for 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Clairsville Memorial Park. Registration starts at 2 p.m.

“We always have between 120 and 150 people show up for the walk,” Williams said, adding that many who have lost a loved one by suicide attend.

Williams said this is an opportunity to “normalize the conversation.”

“That’s what Jerry’s Walk is about. It’s coming together to support people who have lost somebody, but it’s also to educate the community about what suicide is and how we can stop it. It’s getting rid of the stigma so we can have the conversations and hopefully save lives.”

More information and resources can be found at jerryswalk.org.