Good Morning,

An article published in the Grand Junction Sentinel today reports that in Mesa County for the first part of 2017 60 percent of individuals who attempted suicide were under the age of 30.

You can read the report here:  

SPCGC works closely with our two local hospitals to try and get information around attempt numbers. 

For the past three quarters 62.5% of the attempts that were hospitalized were 29 years of age or younger. Of attempts 65% were by overdose.

We use this information to try and focus education efforts

Logline
 
A suicide attempt survivor is on a mission to find fellow survivors and document their stories of courage, insight and humor. Along the way, she discovers a rising national movement transforming personal struggles into action.
 
 
Synopsis
 
THE S WORD is a powerful feature documentary that puts a human face on a topic that has long been stigmatized and buried with the lives it has claimed. The film gives a platform to those with lived experience - people who have attempted to take their own lives and survived to tell their stories. These are the voices that have been silenced for so long and their stories could save lives. Capturing personal revelations and surprising moments of humor, THE S WORD opens a door on this most taboo of subjects through the eyes of the people who have been there and are now committed to preventing others from getting to that edge.
 
Our central subject, attempt survivor Dese’Rae Stage, embarks on a mission to find fellow survivors and share their stories and portraits with the world. Suicide has affected her since she can remember; as a child, a family friend died by suicide, and as a teenager, her best friend died by suicide. She herself attempted suicide at 23 and continues to struggle through cycles of loneliness and depression. After moving to New York and pursuing a career in photography, she discovers that many of her own questions can be addressed using her camera, and she begins to explore life on the other side of suicide. As she becomes a recognized pioneer of a new movement, she also proposes marriage to her girlfriend Fel.
 
As Des pursues her vision, she discovers a vibrant community of other attempt survivors who we meet through her unique lens:

• Boston-area resident Craig Miller was eight years old the first time he considered suicide. At that time, he was being molested by an adult neighbor. After his failed suicide attempt at the age of 20 he turned back to his salvation — writing. His book This Is How It Feels, is now spreading the message that life is an opportunity instead of a burden. As he travels the country telling his story, he tries to balance the pressures of suicide prevention with the strains of his day job and the needs of his family. His story continues to unfold.

 

• Kelechi Ubozoh explains her suicide attempt this way: “I wore a mask every day, pretending to be happy when I was not.” Growing up, people would describe her as the happiest person they knew. But wearing that mask of “the strong black woman” almost leads to her death, because she doesn’t share her internal pain with anyone. After her attempt, she hoped that recovery meant never having a suicidal thought again, but has since come to learn the thoughts are still there. Now living in Oakland, California, Kelechi turns her struggles into action by working as an advocate for the underserved population of people caught up in the Bay Area mental health system.  “We need to have the brown faces talking about this as well. It’s not just a white issue.”

 

• Leah Harris is a Washington D.C. mother, storyteller, suicide survivor and activist. Raised by her grandparents after her mother was institutionalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia, Leah herself survives multiple suicide attempts, including her most serious at 16. Surviving her suicide attempts leads her to the realization that maybe she is supposed to be here. After being introduced to a movement led by a group of “ex-mental patients” striving for change in the system, her calling becomes evident. She turns to advocacy, becoming an activist fighting to change policy on Capitol Hill to one which promotes human rights, dignity and parity for mental health, a journey that takes her to the White House to speak, a pinnacle in her ongoing crusade to make suicide the next social justice issue of our time.

 
Within this unique and personal approach, THE S WORD takes an intimate look at the lives of these survivors and their loved ones and records their candid and profoundly emotional stories of survival…and gives us all a guide to a future with fewer suicides.
 
The film’s narrative flows organically from one to the next, starting with personal moments and building emotional momentum before widening out to show how their journeys are driving the national movement to take the “S” word from unthinkable to preventable.


Please consider joining SpeakUp ReachOut for a free screening of this impactful movie.

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The following message was recently sent out by the Executive Director of the Aspen Hope Center, Michelle Muething, mental health resource in our valley:
 
In the past few days I have been inundated with calls, e-mails and texts about the Netflix show "13 Reasons Why". It depicts one girl's struggle with stressful teen issues and in the end, shows her suicide. Everyone has an opinion on whether this show is appropriate or not, experts are weighing in and people are reaching out for answers.

Suicide is a very real issue; as is cancer, divorce, sex trafficking, poverty, etc. 

Suicide is not a disease you acquire or a condition you are diagnosed with.

It is, in fact, an option that some of those who are in despair begin to contemplate when life seems hopeless.

Rather than focusing on the end result, let's all focus on the 13 reasons why we care enough to be talking about this and the 13 ways we can help people.
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1. Watch for changes in the behaviors of people we know - major changes in behavior can mean something deeper is wrong
2. Listen for words that have dark meaning. I feel lost, empty, hopeless.   I'm a burden, I can't go on, no one will miss me, people are better off without me, I won't be here, I don't know where to turn....The list of helpless and dark words are countless - LISTEN, just take the time to Listen to people
3. Ask questions - don't be so quick to just cheer people up - ask questions about what they are saying
4. Pay attention to life stresses being endured.... divorce, move, grades, job turmoil, etc.
5. Stay close to people you care about and keep conversations open
6. Tell people "YOU CARE" don't tell people everything will be ok, because it might not - but emphasize that you care and will be there
7. Tell people what you see - if behavior changes are drastic say so "you haven't been to ______ in three weeks, what going on?" or "You look different, have you ______ (lost weight, you stopped wearing your make up, you don't dress like you used to, talk as much as before..... )
8. Be specific with your word choice in questions - asking someone "are you going to be ok" could mean anything. Asking someone "You aren't going to do anything crazy are you?" could mean anything - your definition of "OK" and "crazy" will most often be TOTALLY different than theirs. BE SPECIFIC - Have you felt so bad you have thought of ending your life. Have you had thoughts of killing yourself - ending and kill have no alternate definitions.
9. Don't make promises, just make plans "let's call someone" or "Let's go talk to someone"
10. Don't leave people alone when you have that 'gut' feeling something is not right - if you feel it in your gut, you are probably right
11. Stay connected even if they say they are ok or even after they may talk to a professional. Crises come and go, people are ok then not. Keep up.
12. Their struggle is not your struggle, don't own it and more than that, whatever someone says, TAKE IT seriously!!! Even if their problem seems small to you it could be monumentally earth shattering to them and that is what counts.
13. DON'T GIVE UP! If your gut senses something is not right, keep talking, keep asking, keep planting the seeds of Hope and know that there are people who can help 24/7.
Please have conversations and know we are a valley that is not immune to anything - even suicide.
The Hope Center is open to questions, comments, conversations, open dialogue or anything you may be open to or in need of.