51-Year-Old Willits Man Takes His Own Life; Suicide Risk High in Northwestern California
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Captain Greg Van Patten confirmed that a 51-year-old Willits man committed suicide last night by stabbing himself in the chest. Captain Van Patten said the man was “home with family members when the suicide occurred.”
Northern California residents need to remember that the area has a high suicide rate. Mendocino County experienced the sixth-highest suicide rate in the state of California between 2015-2017, as per research conducted by the California Department of Public Health. According to the same study, Lake County experiences the highest rate of suicides, and Humboldt County, was 4th in the state while Trinity County and Del Norte vied with a number of other small rural counties for third.
More recently, Mendocino County experienced a spike in suicides associated with COVID-19 lockdowns though Humboldt and Trinity reported no particular uptick.
Many aspects of the Emerald Triangle’s rural lifestyle lend themselves to suicide risk factors. Those risk factors, as described by the Center for Disease Control, include barriers to health care, social isolation, and high rates of adverse childhood experiences,
Please remember, if you or a loved one are suffering from mental distress there are many resources that can be accessed including:
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-6264, [email protected]
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): (800) 662-4357
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): (866) 615-6464
- Mental Health America Hotline: Text MHA to 741741
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line: Text CONNECT to 741741
In efforts to educate the public regarding suicide prevention, the following infographic from the National Institute of Mental Health provides guidance in warning signs associated with suicide:
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I know I personally never would have survived if I didn’t leave the triangle. I’ve dealt with suicide ideation 20 years, but the most excruciating years were the 12 in the Humboldt area. There’s good people everywhere, but in the three states and 8 counties I’ve lived in, I’ve never seen as many fake, self serving lost souls as the rural parts of the triangle. There’s poor mental health care services world wide, but being treated the way you get treated by strangers, acquaintances, friends and family is what effects you the most. Don’t just post some BS on FB about how your there with a help line #, to do real change you have to stand up for everyone being treated poorly by others.
This story also reminds me of Billy. He shot himself in the heart coping with a break up with a soulless woman. She moved back in that night, harvested his crop and sold off everything in the house including the wood stove then bounced to the Cove. People that didn’t really know him put up a memorial at his suicide site despite how much he hated road side memorials. Weird county, your fake friends will F you well after your gone.
Dude. . .
From all the bad things I’ve heard about our local mental health hospital, I’d rather take the Greyhound to San Francisco and try to get hospitalized there than take myself to a hospital here for mental health reasons. Something needs to change.
Suicide= permanent solution to a temporary problem.
Condolences to the loved ones that have to clean up the mess left behind and deal with the aftermath. They are the real victims here.
Indeed, unfortunately the scars never fully leave you, it’s been over 30 years since my mother took her life and I will never be the same person.
Jay, I’m really sorry that your mom took her life and that you suffered so much as a result.
So sorry Jay.
Trite, unless maybe someone is a young teen but even they if in chronically bad situation know our culture doesn’t invest much in help though oat ourselves on the back as if we are soooooo generous…charity is random;new need systemic quality real care and to address Lon-term chronic problems people face. No, many peoples problems are chronic and community would rather play and invest elsewhere. 25% of completed suicides involve people who had an eviction notice within last two weeks according to Washington county epidemiology study…that doesn’t even include the people without a notice who knew it was coming nor people who procrastinate and kill themselves slowly with substances.
That is a false statement , chronic pain is a full time deal and with so many do gooders and high on the horse people claiming to know how much pain one should have to deal with verses receiving relieving pain meds sometimes is just to much, why please tell me one non selfish reason someone would want you to live like that . When then juice isnt worth the squeeze it is time to end it
Due to my own mental health issues, I ended up in the 5150 ward at St Joes. The whole time from when the Deputies brought me in, to the time I was released, I was treated by very caring, compassionate, and empathetic health care workers. I felt loved cared about, and thusly they saved my life that time.
If anything they have to deal with belligerent, rude, and entitled assholes. They sit for hours watching everyone, dealing with this shit, meanwhile enduring uncertain work conditions, high stress, and no real reward to going above and beyond.
They are the real heroes. And the whole health care systems sucks I hear over and over, are ones that are using and abusing the system. I witnessed several of those types. The health care system including the amazing heroes at the VA, need to be way more appreciated than they are.
My experience is you heard very incorrect info about our health care workers here in Humboldt.
Thank you. There is only so much that can be done with limited funds. People that do care, really try in very difficult positions.
Yes some damn good people work in a horrendous and deadly system run by absolute jerks. And consider those less fortunate than you. The police who texted the god awful things about homeless, one-eyed homeless women and setting people on fire etc have without testing for alcohol or drugs carted off people who were not on any substance or had a bad reaction to prescribed meds like happens with prednisone. Well, maybe they love all vets as if all vets are great and sacrificed, maybe you were lucky, maybe we’ll hear later you lost your mind after all though I hope mot. AND very arrogant to judge everyone else in the system who are being further damaged and act magnanimous that you are a good obedient appreciative patient and the rest are entitled. Wow.
What local mental health hospital? There isn’t one.. unless you mean Santa Rosa but that’s not close enough. They have a little office in ukiah in which a Man answers the phone to get the information from the friends or family who love the person exhibiting a mental health crisis acting like a nice dude you then get the feeling he is either not fully grasping the situation itself from the perspective of the people who have been trying to get help and interrogation ensues or you can almost bet you will end up being scrutinized and blamed for you doing what you are supposed to and seeking help or intervention while he berates and talks down to you for not having the energy left or the proper resources or response to someone you love losing their entire fucking mind and going berserk. As if you are supposed to be a One person army and I have no intention of ever wasting my time or the safety of my Loved one or my own family by calling that shit hole rinky dink excuse for any reason. They need to get some real professionals who know what they are doing to come in and clean house there before they cause some major devastating trauma to those who don’t have anywhere to turn it rely upon what they believe are properly doing their job. That entire thing is just a damn dumpster fire waiting to happen.
True.
Our county mental health kills people AND society is to blame for lack of oversight, transparency and funding.
Mendo county doesnt have a mental health hospital
Mental health services suck. Our current Need a drop in spot a person can go if in need. Self check in. 1 phone call we will come pick you up. Stay on the line with crisis team until social worker transport arrives.
Must be done. What we have now does not address the issue in an adequate way.
That would be nice but I don’t think they even have that in the Bay area.
Truth
Nearly every sensitive person I’ve known has considered suicide at some point. Some have gone there. I appreciate that this article got posted. We don’t talk about it. We hide it when it happens. I don’t think that’s healthy. I think that we treat it like a dirty secret and that only amplifies the loneliness of someone taking that mental turn…Our mental health services suck because we starve them. The mental health workers I know are angels- sweet, caring people who are severely underpaid working in a system that has little to no resources. But that in itself is very depressing…the things we value as a society and the world we build. Look out for your friends and neighbors. Yeah- even if they voted “wrong” and made the “wrong” choice about vaccination. It will make you too feel better.
You said a mouthful right there. I’m an army veteran that dropped out of the Democratic party in around 2015, and lost a ton of friends afterwards, some i knew for decades. This angle has been completely ignored…if there were to be a piece about the correlation between suicide and social isolation due to identity politics, millions on Facebook would rejoice that those marginalized are subjected to a higher suicide risk.
It figures that if this thread went on long enough, someone would come up with “it’s the Demoncrats’ fault”.
Puh-lease.
Yes it’s gotten out of hand. I won’t feed that beast. I saw an old guy in Arcata w/ a Trump bumper sticker today. I was walking by so I congratulated him for his pluckiness ha ha! And we agreed to disagree. But we did agree it was a beautiful day. No- I do not like Trump. But I’m not going to let it allow me to treat my neighbor with hate. We ( me and my hippie DEM friends) really lost our way. We used to promote love and understanding. I hope we find our way back…
Good points
Time for a new health care paradigm. The Democrats are working on it, looking to other countries where things are much more civilized. Do your own research- talk to people from other countries about their health care systems. For such a rich country, we are sadly lacking.
The democrats have been ‘working on it’ for a looooooong time. Lololol.
And that Trump health care system–his 2 weeks were up a year ago.
Like my german friend who was actively trying to end his life 6 months on a waiting list for a room….. fuck that
Yes regarding other countries ; even Britain which is too much like us does far better job visiting people in their homes many times a week and working more as a team providing consistent person centered care vs our psychologists who work mostly in isolation…one person in charge with dominate input isn’t a healthy model for addressing isolation, LOL?
Billions for a vaccine, that makes people very rich.
Never enough for mental health.
It’s a vicious world out there, when we point out how important corporate profit is over the individuals well being, you’d be hard pressed to make sense of the current state of the world.
The vaccine is a profit vector, don’t be fooled. These people are good at what they do.
The human being is a quantity seen as a resource to be exploited. If you don’t recognize that, you will not be able to make the connection between the bid, and the ask.
Please don’t insult the healthy people so you can keep comfortable in your unhealthy ” soon to be a preexisting condition” lifestyle.
People who are working hard to maintain optimum health see the obese people as the problem.
Don’t be surprised if you get the tables turned on you when the critical push comes to shove when we start health passports for digital management of our great reset.
I think about killing myself every day.
Please reach out to your health care provider. They can help guide you through specific coping mechanism. And call one of the hotlines for immediate relief.
Take care of yourself. Life can be really hard but with the right help, you may come to a place where you feel joy again. Sending you hugs and I hope for you a growing sense of purpose and belief in yourself.
We Americans reflexively say “take care of yourself” which my Dutch friends found very odd and we don’t check on how real the resources we tell people to use are vs how they appear on paper. Horrendous things are going on with EPD and Sempervirons against vulnerable women in particular. Trying to get help is a process enough to drive people mad.
Would be a good investigate journalism piece for someone resourced enough….just be in public and look off a bit, crying or angry, especially as a woman and see what 9 of 10 cops do and how their relationship is with the powers that be running sempervirons (who should be sued for malpractice and doing much harm – not the underlings but the psychiatrists and top in charge)
I heard you.
My health care provider had contempt and irritation at me during my visit after attempted suicide. Head nurse screamed at me “a normal person wouldn’t do that!” Would a normal person be screaming at a mental health patient about what a normal person does? The entire hospital process and subsequent psych ward stay was traumatizing af. And it felt like the takeaway was that I didn’t try hard enough to deserve compassion. They gave me back all the pills, even the ones without a prescription. In the end I see people as only caring if it seems like they care. My job, the county, society at large…they don’t care about me, but they will print out mental health awareness fliers and posts memes about it like nobody’s business.
I wish we had better mental health care but if you can, you might consider changing providers.
So sorry…without know you most anything I could say would likely be trite except fight! You have a right to a decent life.
For the first time in 60nyears I have spent 3 years daily thinking and planning it- due to conditions beyond my control both In youth (off the ACE charts) then in older age ina culture that doesn’t actively care about the vulnerable. If you’ve done all you can for yourself please fight to hold community more accountable, speak up and out – this topic has been too hidden for too long. Others need to be more brave and address this.
‘“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage”. – Lao Tzu. We all need both, they are interdependent and as a species we seem to know more about running away to Mars than our own basic needs. Hoping you will be part of the change and needed evolution. ❤️
Generally people are not very friendly or very loving in the Triangle! And the way people treat each other is horrible and reprehensible, people are constantly competing instead of helping and cooperating! Having grown up in the Heart of Mendo I can tell you that the biggest source of trauma for most kids are the other kids who attend these schools. Lots of people teach their kids to be bullies, to be dominant and teach them the discrimination that they are better than everyone else. Men teach their sons to be players and “get laid”. Kids are traumatized with scars that last a lifetime by teachers and classrooms. Not to mention being treated the way you get treated by strangers, clerks, acquaintances, friends and family in the Emerald Triangle is what effects you the most. People hate their jobs and hate their lives. Not to mention many people are completely bored to death, there is nothing to do for recreation on a daily basis. No daily tail gate gatherings cant even drink a beer in the park with your buddies on your tailgate; so people become isolated! Most people just get a loan to buy a a car to drive to work work every day for a pittance salary that barely pays for their home car loan or puts food on their table; For many it is a struggle between paying electric bill or buying groceries. Not to mention the high suicide rate among cannabis farmers and families who could not jump through the hoops McCowen and BOARD OF Supes created thst spelled nearly certain death or suicide for many rural cannabis farmers and their workers. Each grow we see gets busted represents 10-30 workers livelihoods the trickle down economic effect of cannabis effects everyone who lives and works in the Triangle. But nobody is doing anything to make the area fun. People are bored and isolated to death. People look like they are in the ozarks and many are on serious psych meds. Expressionless zombies everywhere! What kind of life is : work home work home work home….. for eternity! It’s modern day slave living just enough food to eat and no extra money for many people and the county wants to take that away and make life even harder in their hatred and pursuit for dominance and control and power. Seniors used to be able to supplement their SSI checks with cannabis and young couples and young families used to buy their kids christmas and school clothes with that extra few bucks the few plants brought in.. but the people who hate; along with the Board of Supervisors even took that little extra away from our working families and senior citizens! People are hate filled envious and jealous there is little community. Get out while your still alive!
Seen on a graffiti mural in SF:
DEBT=SLAVERY
bboy, that is a rotten comment. Suicide is nothing to joke about!
The “service” is sadly a bit of a joke…only going to help the most impulsive and for how many minutes? 10. They don’t do any studies to see how effective or not those call centers are; we need to do much better as a community.
I truly feel sorry the the man that killed himself. Living with demons that you can’t control is living in hell. May he RIP. Condolences to his family and friends. May God provide them with love and strength to help them cope with his loss, and trying to heal themselves. A journey for them that will really never end.
Mendocino County is no different than anywhere else. This world is not what it seems and we are all drifting in a sea of suffering and bliss. Mendo HIstorian should know, if he/she is really a historian, that throughout our sad history as humans we have done reprehensible things, here in Mendo and all over the world. The key is having joy in giving to others, even “just animals”, which will put love and humor in your heart. Then you can face cruelty by others with aplomb, even if you can’t beat the system. Believe me, when the bullies see that they can’t move you, they will move away and try someone else. Not saying you or anyone else will avoid depression, and not contradicting anything you are saying about our predicament in the “Triangle”, but just saying that kindness to others, including animals, will lighten your mood and possibly save lives. If that sounds heartless, like “why don’t you just buck up and get a life?” that is not my message, I want to help, because I have been there, too, and think I MIGHT (might!) know what helps and what does not. Giving is the answer even if it is a small act of kindness. Sorry if I sound like a goodie two shoes, but I’m a straight forward person and know no other way to put it.
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. – Lao Tzu.
Funny how we need strength for courage and courage for strength; there is a physics at work and being hopeful is nothing to apologize for, not trite at all.
THanks for the comment.
That is about as useful as those hotlines are for most callers. Ten min chatting with a stranger when someone is in so much pain etc they are seriously considering taking their life? Sad joke that mostly just provides a conscience soothing “Out” for people…”here, call this number…bye, bye”. Ted Bundy worked answering calls at one of those hotlines….guessing he was entertained by the pain or trying to learn how to control influence people…
That’s about right, here’s my take on the local suicide hotline…
( It is, or was, a phone tree, I’m not sure if the menu options have changed, so, please listen carefully)
“If you’ve got a gun, press one…”
“If you’ve got a rope, press two, and please stay on the line, a representative will be with you shortly…”
” All representatives are currently assisting other customers, please stay on the line, as your call is very important to us, and your call will be answered in the order it was received”
“Current wait time, 45 minutes”
“🎵🎶Dee Dee Dee Dee
Dee Dee, Dee Dum,
🎵🎶Chetchah chetchah,
cheh chetchah, chetchah chetchah,
🎵🎶 Dee Dee Dee Dee,
Dee Dee Dum…..”
I lost a friend recently who took his own life.
He was the kind of guy that would drop everything to help anyone.
That’s how we met.
He had spoken to me about his troubles when we met.
We had much in common.
We laughed together.
I tried to help.
I reached out to who I thought might help, to who I thought should have helped. I left a message.
My call was not answered or returned.
Then, within a short period of time, it happened.
I bumped into the man who I had called, the man that hadn’t responded, and I inquired about my friend, and that’s when he told me that my friend had taken his own life. I told him I was the one who had tried to call him and why.
He didn’t want to hear it. He said he knew.
My friend is now dead.
I can remember his face, I can remember him laughing, and smiling.
I am glad we were able to share that moment.
It was a short friendship.
I hope the memory of him doesn’t fade too quickly, it is a good one.
The system is broken.
My friend is gone.
that’s my suicide prevention mantra–remind myself if I’m really going to die, there’s a short list I can send on ahead to light the way to hell first. Then I’m so perked up I don’t think about dying any more.
Although this is a bad joke, it does bring up a interesting point in this modern age of phone services. While I have zero experience with a suicide hotline, it seems every number you call now-days requires a push button phone and speaking the phrase “customer service” works less and less often. This is normally not a problem, but, for example, when the power goes out, we will pull out our old rotary dial phone. As long as we don’t need to call an automated system, like, say, Pacific Gas and Extortion, we are fine. Heaven forbid someone needs a hotline AND a push button phone when the power goes out.
WHY ARE YOU POSTING THIS!!! The irresponsibility of this website is constantly disturbing!!! I wish Kym would stop needing attention so much because it is literally KILLING people!!!! Shame!
WTF, Kim posted this story because it is an important subject, not only to the mans family and friends, but also to others who may think the only way out is suicide. PLEASE, if you need help talk to someone, give your life a chance. There is no coming back from suicide, only terrible memories for those who love you and hold you in their heart.
[…] did note that the Emerald Triangle generally has higher suicide rates than many other areas of […]