{"id":234773,"date":"2025-09-17T21:35:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T21:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/234773\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T21:35:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T21:35:15","slug":"zero-suicide-jax-program-aims-to-prevent-tragedy-one-conversation-at-a-time-action-news-jax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/234773\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Zero Suicide Jax\u2019 program aims to prevent tragedy, one conversation at a time \u2013 Action News Jax"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 September marks Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and for the first time, the city of Jacksonville has launched a new and free initiative designed to save lives.<\/p>\n

The program is called Zero Suicide Jax, a citywide effort that empowers everyday people \u2014 not just professionals \u2014 to recognize the warning signs of suicide and take meaningful action.<\/p>\n

The initiative launched earlier this year with one powerful goal: zero suicides in Jacksonville. For one local mother, the mission is personal.<\/p>\n

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, so DJ was a very kind and gentle soul. He was a star athlete. He was a 4.0 student\u2026 his smile would absolutely just light up the room,\u201d said Cheryl Deas, remembering her 16-year-old son, Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr.<\/p>\n

But behind that bright smile, DJ was quietly struggling with something far deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, about seven years ago on June 14\u2026 DJ died by suicide,\u201d Deas said.<\/p>\n

According to Deas, there were no clear signs leading up to his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me that he was going inside to take a nap, and when my husband and I tried to contact him, we couldn\u2019t reach him, so we then sent my best friend and my nephew to our home, and when they open the door, they found him deceased. He had shot himself,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n

Two years later, Cheryl opened a keepsake box that revealed more about DJ\u2019s inner world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a goodbye\u2026 but it was basically a letter telling us, \u2018I really wanna be a perfect child for you guys\u2026 I don\u2019t want you to have three other perfect children and then there\u2019s just me that\u2019s not succeeding in the way that I think I should,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Now, she\u2019s using DJ\u2019s story to raise awareness \u2014 and to help other families avoid the same heartbreak.<\/p>\n

\"\"Cheryl Deas remembers her 16-year-old son, Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr. 16-year-old, Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr., committed suicide seven years ago. \"\"Cheryl Deas remembers her 16-year-old son, Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr. 16-year-old Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr. committed suicide nearly seven years ago. \"\"Cheryl Deas remembers her 16-year-old son, Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr. 16-year-old Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr. committed suicide nearly seven years ago. \"\"Cheryl Deas remembers her 16-year-old son, Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr. 16-year-old Darnell \u201cDJ\u201d Deas Jr. committed suicide nearly seven years ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cLast thing\u2014we want to have another family be affected,\u201d said Deas.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Dr. Christine Cauffield, CEO of LSF Health Systems, launched Zero Suicide Jax. This public health initiative seeks to train employers, educators, and community members to identify and intervene when someone might be at risk.<\/p>\n

[DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see somebody that seems to be isolating, that their behavior is changing\u2026 they may be having angry outbursts,\u201d said Dr. Cauffield.<\/p>\n

In 2023 alone, 176 people in Jacksonville died by suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said we need to do something about this\u2026 asking that tough question \u2014 \u2018Are you thinking about harming yourself?\u2019\u201d Cauffield added.<\/p>\n

The initiative encourages individuals to visit the website <\/b><\/a>and take what\u2019s called the CARES pledge, a simple five-step guide to helping someone in crisis:<\/p>\n

\u2022C \u2013 Check for warning signs<\/p>\n

\u2022A \u2013 Ask about suicidal thoughts<\/p>\n

\u2022R \u2013 Reinforce that you care<\/p>\n

\u2022E \u2013 Establish next steps<\/p>\n

\u2022S \u2013 Stay in touch<\/p>\n

Businesses and organizations can also get involved by taking the ACT pledge, which promotes suicide prevention in the workplace:<\/p>\n

\u2022A \u2013 Adopt training<\/p>\n

\u2022C \u2013 Create stigma-free support<\/p>\n

\u2022T \u2013 Take on peer advocacy<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, LSF Health Systems is now exploring ways to expand the Zero Suicide model beyond Jacksonville into other Northeast Florida counties \u2014 turning suicide prevention into a truly regional effort.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is struggling, call 988 \u2014 the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It\u2019s free, confidential, and available 24\/7.<\/p>\n

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Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 September marks Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and for the first time, the city of Jacksonville…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":234774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[7320,5229,7323,3188,723,7324,7310,7327,7325,7326,126163,5518,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7322,7321,126162],"class_list":{"0":"post-234773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action-news-jax","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-cbs47","11":"tag-fl","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-fox30","14":"tag-jacksonville","15":"tag-jacksonville-fl","16":"tag-northeast-florida","17":"tag-southeast-georgia","18":"tag-suicide-awareness-month","19":"tag-suicide-prevention","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa","26":"tag-wfox","27":"tag-wjax","28":"tag-zero-suicide-jax"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115221793172153977","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}