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MHF In the News
Mom’s Billboard Campaign
October 12, 2011
This has been a project of Mom survivors who are dedicated to getting the message out that suicide can be preventable. This is an excerpt from one of the Moms to her friends:
"I knew they were going up today and all day my heart was anxious. I took a different path home from work, a path that would lead me face to face with my reality. As I came closer I did not want to look. When I finally allowed myself to, I was overcome with bittersweet emotions as is the case so many times on this journey. Damn, I always wanted to be that beautiful woman in the black slinky dress holding a bottle of whiskey. Instead, I am the grief filled mom holding a picture of her son with the word suicide next to it. Nothing glamorous, nothing humorous, nothing catchy, once again, reality. But truthfully, I know that this is where I am supposed to be, this is the path that God has put me on since our lives changed that awful July day. He is simply using me as the means and I am willing to do whatever it takes to end this. If you have an opportunity to see the billboards I hope that you will take a minute to let someone you love know, that you would not be better off without them, that they matter and you are blessed because of them."
Suicide is a national health problem that cuts across all ages and demographics. Each year, close to one million people make a suicide attempt and more than 33,000 die by suicide in the U.S. alone. It is the fourth leading cause of death among adults 18 to 65 and the third leading cause of death among teens and young adults. Here in Kent County it is the second leading cause of death amongst high school and college students.
Suicide is a very complex issue and one that is often surrounded by stigma and misconceptions. That said, it is important for the public to know that more than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have an underlying psychiatric disorder, most often depression at the time of their death, we know that early recognition and vigorous treatment of depression is one of the best ways to prevent suicide.
