The idea for this blog grew from a cause on Facebook: "Stop suicide. Every 16 minutes someone dies from their own hand." Within 2 weeks over 230 people from all over the world had joined the cause and the comments that I got talked about their personal experience of suicide, rather it being during a hard time for them, or the act of a family member or loved one. And person after person said: "This is a tragedy that shouldn't happen." And so I decided to start something that reached beyond simply Facebook. The cause on Facebook continues to grow and hopefully will grow more. But this is an issue that we need to reach out to everyone on. We have the knowledge and services to help. We lack simply the will or decision to do so.
Within this blog you will find several things:
- Stories shared by survivors. The goal is both to serve as a memorial of sorts to those who tragically died, but also in sharing their stories to help motivate action to avert this terrible tragedy for other families.
- Information. There is a tremendous amount of information out there about the phenomenon of suicide and the different factors that influence it.
- Resources. Links to different organizations and sites that provide resource and assistance in dealing with the issue.
- What can you do to help? And perhaps most importantly what can you do to make an impact on this important issue.
Comments are welcome. Please feel free to address any issues you feel relevant. It is through sharing our experience, knowledge and perspectives that all of us grow. If you are a survivor of suicide or an attemptor and wish to share your experience I would be most grateful to hear from you. We can all make a difference.
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Larry,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for what you are doing. There is a great need for information and sentiment to help lessen the stigma attached to suicide and depression. Having nowhere to turn is often a last straw for individual - hopefully sites like ours will help to give them a place to go. Prayers for your friend.