<b>By Lanier Laney</b>

How can we as a community help to fight depression, especially with adolescents and older males? Suicide is a huge tragic problem here and I would like to call on all the organizations I cover in this column to please add an element to your mission statement to help combat depression. We have to do something as a community to help end the tragic loss of good people. Please, let’s all put our “thinking caps” on and figure out something, no matter how small, we can each do to help our friends and neighbors get through these bouts of depression.

Here’s a message from the national suicide hotline: No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor.