Arcata’s Suicide Prevention Week Will Be September 10-16

This is a press release from Arcata City Council:

Photo from Wikimedia Commons by Sander van der Wel

ARCATA, CALIFORNIA – (August 2, 2017) – On Wednesday, August 2, the City Council of the City of Arcata proclaimed September 10 to 16, 2017 as Suicide Prevention Week in Arcata. This designation asserts that the stigma associated with mental health conditions and suicidality works against suicide prevention by discouraging at-risk persons from seeking life-saving help and further traumatizes survivors of suicide loss. In 2014, Humboldt County experienced 214 suicide attempts and 36 suicide deaths.

“On behalf of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and all of our committee members and volunteers local to the area, thank you for recognizing suicide as a preventable national and state health problem and declaring suicide prevention to be a priority in Arcata,” said Heather Freitas, AFSP Greater San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Board Member.

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, yet suicide is preventable. This year’s Suicide Prevention Week will kick off with the annual Arcata Out of the Darkness Community Walk on World Suicide Prevention Day. The walk is hosted by the Greater San Francisco Bay Area Chapter on September 10, 2017 and begins at 10am at the Arcata Plaza. This event supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s local and national education and advocacy programs and its bold goal to reduce the annual rate of suicide 20 percent by 2025.

Speakers at the Arcata Out of the Darkness Walk will include local mental health advocates and suicide loss survivors.For more information on the walk, go to: afsp.org/arcata

Local sponsors for the Arcata Out of the Darkness Walk include Aalfs, Evans & Company, Accurate Productions, Ace Hardware McKinleyville, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Redwood Realty, Carpet Depot, Coast Central Credit Union, CVS Pharmacy, Danco Group, Edward Jones Investments, HealthSPORT, Humboldt Land Title Company, Humboldt Property Management, Kinetic Koffee, L&M Renner, Mad River Gardens, McCrea Motors, Nancy Noll, Pauli-Harbour & Anderson, Robinson Starkey Insurance, Redwood Capital Bank, Renner Petroleum, and RE/MAX Humboldt.

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Honeydew Bridge C.H.U.M.P.
Guest
Honeydew Bridge C.H.U.M.P.
6 years ago

I’m mixed feelings on these.
As someone left behind I understand the emotions we face daily.
Part of me feels these somewhat validate the person with these thoughts, if not solidifying their choice by giving them a soapbox platform.
For people that have lost someone the only way is to talk about the anger we face that is combined with a faultless guilt.
Those are powerful emotions that can not be explained, only known by those who have the damage and understand.
If you’ve been here the only way to find the horizon is talking to someone on the level and bringing out all those inner thoughts.
Only do this with someone that has been there, books and degrees don’t teach the reality of this and you’ll have no respect for someone that hasn’t walked the path.

If you are thinking of leaving people behind, be aware of the lifetime of pain you will leave on them, much like a cattle brand on their soul.

If you really Love them work this out and don’t leave deep scars for a lifetime on those that care-

it never goes away even though you have.

What is left behind is a nearly unbearable pain worse than anything that the people that Love you carry forever.

Just reach out to Love those that Love you.

hmm
Guest
hmm
6 years ago

I knew you were a troll. Obviously, you are pretending to be batshit crazy on most of your posts. This is the first time I’ve seen you make discernible, logical points, and use decent sentence structure. You’re either trolling most of the time or you just began taking medication for a mental disorder.

Phyllis
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Phyllis
6 years ago

As someone who has contemplated the thought at times on a daily basis, I try and p u t my loved ones in the situation of losing their grandparent in such a way. The pain I would put them through. As far as standing on a soap box, it’s not a thought that is spoken about just thought about in my situation. I feel it would be selfish and cheat my loved ones. They are the ones who will deal with the pain
Times just live by the day or hour i f necessary, must find peace in ones self. Dead is dead there is no turning back

Honeydew Bridge C.H.U.M.P.
Guest
Honeydew Bridge C.H.U.M.P.
6 years ago
Reply to  Phyllis

As a left behind Loved one, if I can have three days and not have it enter my mind it’s a good week. That’s five years along.

Daily, I struggle with a mixed emotion of anger, guilt, and where I try to suppress empathy.

The Loved ones left behind suffer even more than the pain one feels.

It’s no release, it’s a bad statement that burns deep into the souls of those forced to endure it.

Writing this, it’s a I can do not to throw up, cry, and pound on the ground. I’ll be doing that until my last day.

Any happy day I have, it enters my mind.
Any peace I have, it’s there for a moment.

Just work it out, nothing is enough to leave people behind with a lifetime of mixed emotions they struggle to grip by the minute.

People Love you, you Love people, please think about the pain for them. Your pain can be worked out, theirs is burned deep into their soul and alters happiness, and they carry a cinder block of pain through life that nobody can possibly understand.

Just talk it out.

People Love you and you’ll crush their worlds beyond repair.

People will listen and people understand, embrace Love.

hmm
Guest
hmm
6 years ago

I have had three friends commit suicide. None of them had long term depression. In every case they had an emotionally intense event occur, drank alcohol and had easy access to a firearm. I firmly believe they would all be here still if they hadn’t had such an easy way to kill themselves.

shawn the fisherman
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shawn the fisherman
6 years ago

Suicide part of human evolution? Natural selection? Has suicide happened from the start of mankind? Is suicide part of normal everyday life? Im starting to think so. I miss my friends who have taken there lives, And always wonder could I, stop them, Change their mind? I think not. Its not something I can understand, Part of human DNA. Sad.