The number of suicides has more than tripled for adults ages 21 to 40 in the last year in Johnson County.

In 2008, there were four suicides in that age group. So far, that number has already reached 13 suicides.

“One suicide is too many,” said Joan Benson, a facilitator at the Iowa City Crisis Center.

While the increase is surprising, more information regarding each particular case is necessary to determine if this is a trend and what may have caused it, according to the American Association of Suicidology.

One possible factor could be the faltering economy, said Sam Cochran, the director of the University Counseling Service.

“There has been a clear historical trend with suicide and economic problems,”he said.

University Counseling Services has seen a decrease in the overall number of clients from 2,434 in the 2007-08 school year to 2,333 in the 2008-09 year.

The number of clients with depression was consistent, he said, with one in every five having some variation of suicidal thinking.

Officials agree that education and awareness are necessary in preventing suicide.

The Crisis Center worked toward that goal by hosting a meeting titled “It’s Time to Talk About Suicide” on Sept. 9 in Iowa City.

Representatives from several organizations and family members of suicide victims attended.

Participants brought up one topic of interest — the Polk County Suicide Coalition, a collaboration of the county’s suicide-prevention agencies.

The coalition provides a place where community partners and organizations can share ideas and work together in a more effective way, said Chris Frantsvog, a Polk County public-health planner.

The Polk County Coalition started out with 70 people in 2005; the number has more than doubled to 150.

Participants at the local meeting discussed the possibility of creating a similar coalition for Johnson County.

Keri Neblett, the Crisis Center program director, said it may be early to talk about a coalition, “but we did get some great feedback.”

Johnson County has a good number of organizations and programs already in place that could work together even more effectively, said Dale Chell, the Iowa Youth Suicide Prevention coordinator.