suicide

NEW 988 NATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINE COMPLEMENTS CA EFFORTS

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

July 22, 2022 (San Diego) -- Starting now, people contemplating suicide or families experiencing a mental health crisis can call 988 instead of 911, and get the help they need.


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ADVANCING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE PREVENTION AWARENESS MONTH

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies

 

Photos courtesy of the National Institute of Mental Health

 

September 12, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- When the San Diego County Suicide Prevention Council sent an invitation to its monthly meeting in August, it came with a request.


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QUESTION, PERSUADE, REFER: VIRTUAL SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING HOSTED BY KUMEYAAY FAMILY SERVICES

Source:  Southern Indian Health Council

August 31, 2020 (San Diego's East County) - Kumeyaay Family Services PEI (Prevention and Early Intervention) is hosting a virtual suicide prevention training which is open to adults in the community.


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MURDERED WOMAN LED COUNTY FOSTER PARENT ASSOCIATION IN EL CAJON

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2020 (El Cajon) – Debbie Stolz, President of the San Diego County Foster Parent Association based in El Cajon, was murdered along with her daughter on Sunday at a home in Otay Mesa. The loss of Stolz has sent shockwaves through local communities and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. Stolz worked  for over 20 years as a trainer for parents with Grossmont College’s Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Care education program.

“Deb played an integral role in the program through her training and support to countless resource parents for foster youth in San Diego County,” says Sally Cox, CEO of the Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges, in an email to staff.  Stolz Stolz was a long-time employee for the Foundation.


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READER’S EDITORIAL: LIVES LOST AMID PANDEMIC AREN’T ALL DUE TO COVID-19: SUICIDES RISE DURING QUARANTINE

By Bettie Wells 
 
Photo: Creative Commons by S.A. via Bing
 
May 10, 2020 (El Cajon) -- I am a mental health care professional. I have worked in the field in many arenas for 25 years. I have worked mainly in trauma-not something I picked for myself, it just worked out that way. I thought I had seen it all in my career until about three weeks ago...Suicide. 
 
As a therapist, I hear about suicide fairly often. It's an important question in a psycho-social interview. I have helped countless people work through their suicidal ideation. It's safe to say that I am not flustered by my clients needing to work though such a dark time in their lives. This last three weeks though, I have been hearing about someone suiciding on average about three times a day now. 
 
Think about that--on average three times a day, I hear about someone killing themselves. In my 25 years working in this field, I have never once experienced this much suicide happening all at once.

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FROM THE FIRE CHIEF’S CORNER: SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH

Suicidal Tendencies?

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

September 20, 2019 (San Diego) -- Suicide is on the rise. Regardless of race, gender, age, fame, financial status, it is rising! Having suicidal thoughts does not mean someone is weak or flawed.


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'SHOCKING' NUMBER OF JAIL SUICIDES STIRS NEW SHERIFF'S POLICIES

 

By Ken Stone

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

September 3, 2019 (San Diego) - The San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday that it has adopted a slate of policies designed to prevent inmate suicides at its jails, actions undertaken following the release of a report that decried a “shocking” number of such deaths at local lockup facilities.


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DO YOU KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS OF SUICIDE?

 

Local resources available to get help

If a friend or loved one were contemplating suicide, would you know it? If you knew it, would you know what to do?

The great majority of people who die by suicide show warning signs. Knowing how to spot them and what you can do may help save a life.


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FIRE CAPTAIN TAKES OWN LIFE AT PINE VALLEY BRIDGE

 

By Miriam Raftery

Updated Nov. 22, 2017 to include information on suicide prevention for firefighters through the Firefighters Behavioral Health Alliance.

November 6, 2017 (Pine Valley) – Local firefighters, heroic in battling flames and saving lives, today are grieving the tragic loss of one of their own.  Cal Fire Unit Chief and County Fire Chief Tony Mecham announced yesterday on Facebook, “It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I notify you of the passing of Fire Captain Ryan Mitchell from Station 20. Ryan took his own life this morning at the Pine Valley Bridge shortly after completing his shift.”


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HOLIDAY BLUES? HERE’S WHO TO CALL

 

East County News Service

December 22, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) - The holidays can be a difficult time of year for those who have suffered losses or are alone.  Midwinter can also trigger Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, in some individuals.


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NEW REPORT: BIG JUMP IN MENTAL HEALTH-RELATED CALLS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

 

East County News Service

June 9, 2016 (San Diego) -- Over the past six years, law enforcement agencies throughout the region have seen an 84 percent increase in the number of calls for service that stem from mental health issues, according to new data compiled by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Criminal Justice Research Division.


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SUICIDE AT EL CAJON BUSINESS; VICTIM BELIEVED TO BE HOMELESS WOMAN

 

East County News Service

September 12, 2015 (El Cajon) – Employees of Advanced Air and Vacuum on Marshall Street in El Cajon responded  to a burglary alarm going off at 6:30 last night and made a disturbing discovery.


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CRITICAL TEEN ISSUES FORUM OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO BULLYING, SUICIDE, ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND SAFETY FOR EAST COUNTY YOUTH

By Janis Mork

“Facebook doesn’t create relationships. When I was younger, I remember posting something on Facebook, a bad word. My uncle called me and told me it was dumb. If you have a million followers or a lot of friends, those are not your friends honestly.”- a 22-year-old girl 

April 28, 2013 (El Cajon)- April 16 was the 18th annual youth-led event by STAAND (Students Together Against Alcohol And Drugs), a critical teen issues forum addressing common problems prevalent in East County teens. Among those are bullying, suicide, alcohol, drugs, and safety (cyber bullying, cyber dating).

STAAND is a part of Communities Against Substance Abuse. The group has this forum because adjusting to high school can be challenging for all students, but East County has experienced a huge influx of immigrant families and up to 50 languages are spoken among families in local school districts. More of these families live in poverty than ever before. This affects teens greatly.


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AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAM TO REACH OUT TO THE RECENTLY BEREAVED

Program launch coincides with National Suicide Prevention Week, September 9 – 15th

September 12, 2012 (San Diego) – Every 15 minutes, someone in the United States dies by suicide. Every 16 minutes, someone is left behind to make sense of it. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s new Survivor Outreach Program provides those left behind after a death by suicide comfort and reassurance that there is help, and there is hope.


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COUNTY’S ACCESS AND CRISIS LINE RECEIVES NATIONAL ACCREDITATION

 
Crisis Center Recognized for High Quality Support to Individuals in Need
 
August 3, 2012 (San Diego) -- San Diego County’s Access and Crisis line has received national accreditation indicating that the crisis line is an effective resource to help people who are contemplating suicide. The Crisis Center Accreditation was awarded by the American Association of Suicidology.

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FRONT AND CENTER: SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS

 
By Rick Rogers
 
July 21, 2012 ( San Diego) -- With numbing regularity the Defense Department rolls out another report on heartbreakingly high rates of troop suicides. 
 
Lately the numbers grow worse just when you think they should turn better. The military counted 154 suicides in the first 155 days of the year.

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DEPUTIES ARREST SUICIDAL POWAY MAN WITH ARSENAL OF GUNS

 
July 3, 2012 (Poway) – Sheriff’s deputies from the Poway station responded to a report of an armed man trying to kill himself yesterday afternoon at his home in the 13700 block of Powers Road. The man, a convicted felon, told deputies he would not be taken into custody alive and that he had booby-trapped the inside of his home with explosives.

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ECM WORLD WATCH: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

 
May 22, 2012 --  (San Diego’s East County) – ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:   
 
 
 
 
 
 
U.S.
  • Obama spending binge never happened (Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch)
  • GOP Senators push for Medicare cuts (The Hill)
  • Wall Street rebounds, but investors dump Facebook (Reuters)
  • As NATO summit wraps, Romney and Obama trade attacks (USA Today)
  • This terrifying amendment legalizes use of propaganda on the U.S. public (Business Insider)
  • Republican-led House votes to allow military action against Iran (RawStory)
  • CEOs who delivered the most and least bang for the buck (Wall Street Journal)
  • Facebook users file class action over online tracking (RawStory)
  • Romney, Obama in dead heat, new poll finds (Washington Post)
  • Troops face same risk of brain-wasting disease as football players (KPBS)
WORLD
  • U.S. Senate approves bill to toughen Iran sanctions (BBC)
  • Italy earthquake: Monti prepares for state of emergency (BBC)
  • Suicide bomber kills 90 in Yemen (Reuters)
  • Despite end to Afghan war in 2014, U.S. to shoulder burden of funding (Fox News)
  • A look at ‘wind turbines of the deep’ (BBC)
Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

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VETERAN WITH POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) DEPARTS ON 3,800 MILE CROSS COUNTRY BICYCLE RIDE MARCH 10 IN LA MESA

 

March 7, 2012 (La Mesa)--Tom Skinner, an Army veteran, will depart on Saturday. March 10, 2012 at 9:00 A.M. from the United Church of Christ, 5940 Kelton Avenue, La Mesa on 117-day cross country ride covering over 3,800 miles ending at White River Junction, Vermont the National PTSD Headquarters.

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BOOK REVIEW: TRUE CRIME STORIES (PART II)

 

I’M IN THE TUB, GONE. By Richard James Carlson

 

Publish America, Baltimore. 2004. 123 pages.
Available at the San Diego Police Museum and on Amazon.com

 

Reviewed by Walter Hall

 

“Today is the final day of this life…”

 

Only once in a long while do we encounter a book that just won’t let go. This is one of those books. The subject is suicide; the format is simple: a collection of the notes left behind. Identities are protected, but the texts are rendered just as they were found. Unvarnished. No commentary. Just a last wish, an edgy accusation, or a lonely cry against the coming night. Each voice wallops the unsuspecting reader from a different corner of life.

 

An experienced SDPD emergency negotiator, Richard Carlson introduces the collected letters and notes with a personal appeal not to give up. He is addressing two audiences: those who would consider taking their lives and the rest of us. After absorbing even a handful of these notes, readers will find it difficult to argue.


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ECONOMIC CRISIS INCREASES SUICIDE RATE, COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH REPORTS. KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS

May 6, 2009 (San Diego)--May is Mental Health Month--and County of San Diego officials decided to kick it off highlighting the connection between the economic crisis and suicide.

 

In San Diego County, the number of suicides increased 17 percent during the last five years, reaching 366 in 2008. The biggest increase took place in 2007 when the number of suicides reached 356 compared to 313 the previous year. Preliminary data for the first two months of this year indicates that about one suicide is taking place in San Diego County every day.

 


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