30,000.
It is not my Lotto winnings, or the mileage on my car. It is the average number of suicides per year in the United States.
Suicide ranks higher than homicide as a cause of death. And each suicide leaves behind approximately six people who are directly affected by this tragedy. 180,000+ people per year.
My brother Ed completed his suicide in 2003. Since then, I have become involved in the Survivors After Suicide and Suicide Prevention Center programs at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center in Culver City, CA.
I co-facilitate bereavement groups for suicide loss, write for the SAS newsletter, and am a member of the Suicide Response Team, which is called to the scene of suicides in the city of Los Angeles. I help to educate new phone counselors and group co-facilitators.
I wish I could go back to my complacent yet plodding life before 2003, but I can't.
I can only pray that my efforts will help someone to ease the burden of their loss.
Suicide Hot Lines:
LA and Orange Counties 1-877-727-4747
National 1-800-784-2433
~ From Rick in Studio City
It is not my Lotto winnings, or the mileage on my car. It is the average number of suicides per year in the United States.
Suicide ranks higher than homicide as a cause of death. And each suicide leaves behind approximately six people who are directly affected by this tragedy. 180,000+ people per year.
My brother Ed completed his suicide in 2003. Since then, I have become involved in the Survivors After Suicide and Suicide Prevention Center programs at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center in Culver City, CA.
I co-facilitate bereavement groups for suicide loss, write for the SAS newsletter, and am a member of the Suicide Response Team, which is called to the scene of suicides in the city of Los Angeles. I help to educate new phone counselors and group co-facilitators.
I wish I could go back to my complacent yet plodding life before 2003, but I can't.
I can only pray that my efforts will help someone to ease the burden of their loss.
Suicide Hot Lines:
LA and Orange Counties 1-877-727-4747
National 1-800-784-2433
~ From Rick in Studio City