Jessica Renda said only after many calls to the crisis hotline and hospital visits did she come to understand that her oldest daughter’s suicidal thoughts were a lifelong condition.

“It has taken me a long time to accept this is not something she will grow out of, and that a mental health illness just like any chronic, physical health illness,” Renda said during a news conference Monday to mark September as Suicide Prevention Month in New Hampshire.

“If you know somebody who is struggling, talk with them, ask them if they need help.”

Renda has become the lead family coordinator for the Concord School District working with the National Alliance for Mental Illness in New Hampshire (NAMI-N.H.).

“This is a lifelong journey for our entire family,” said Renda, the mother of five daughters.

See Full Page