US | suicide prevention During Suicide Awareness Week, 2 High-Profile Deaths And both of them worked in mental health advocacy By Evann Gastaldo Posted Sep 11, 2019 11:23 AM CDT Copied (Getty Images / Chinnapong) It's National Suicide Prevention Week, and in a tragic twist, two high-profile suicides are making headlines—both of them having a direct link to mental health advocacy. Gregory Eells, who for six months had served as the executive director of counseling and psychological services at the University of Pennsylvania, took his own life by jumping from the 17th floor of a building in Philadelphia Monday morning, CBS News reports. Per Inside Higher Ed, Eells' mother tells the Philadelphia Inquirer her son, who was 52, had complained about being stressed at his new job, and had said its demands kept him from spending time with his family. Jarrid Wilson, a Southern California megachurch pastor known for his mental health advocacy, took his own life Monday, according to a statement from church officials. Wilson, 30, had been open about his own struggles with depression, and in 2016 he co-founded Anthem of Hope, a Christian organization to help those struggling with mental health and substance abuse, Christianity Today reports. He had been an associate pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church about a year and a half, NBC News reports. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has started a #BeThe1To campaign urging people to "be the one to" ask someone struggling with suicidal thoughts how they're doing, be there for them, help them stay connected, and more. Read These Next Russia tried to protect the tanker, but the US managed to seize it. Lego turned CES on its head this year with its latest innovation. A judge's decision could end up freeing a school shooter. Pilot of plane that lost door panel wants $10M from Boeing. Report an error