South Hadley’s Suicide Prevention Efforts in the News

S. Hadley man awarded for suicide prevention work

Updated: Monday, 06 Feb 2012, 8:12 PM EST
Published : Monday, 06 Feb 2012, 5:22 PM EST

Christine Lee, 22News State House Correspondent

BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The tragic suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince in January 2010 awakened a national movement against bullying, but for Robert Judge of South Hadley, it awakened something else.

“My mother’s brother committed suicide, my father’s uncle committed suicide,” said Judge.  “The suicide of a beautiful teenager in South Hadley just, I guess, brought it forward into my mind and just made me feel this is something I want to spend some time with.”

Judge went on to become coordinator of the South Hadley Community Coalition to Prevent Suicide, a group that trains people to listen for suicide, talk to people and debunk some of the common myths.

“I think the biggest myth might be is that it’s not preventable,” said Judge.  “South Hadley and the surrounding townspeople can call the Behavioral Health Network Crisis number, you can call your local police department …I know of a situation recently where help was on the door steps of a person minutes after the phone call had been made.”

For his work, Representative John Scibak (D-South Hadley) presented Judge with an award recognizing his leadership in suicide prevention.

“There is no better testimony to the memory of Phoebe Prince than the activities of Bob Judge’s take on behalf of the Town of South Hadley,” said Scibak.  “If one person, who is contemplating suicide, stops to realize there are other alternatives, then all of these efforts are well worth it, and I think Bob has certainly done that.”

According to Judge, another common myth is that suicide is mostly common among young people – It’s actually more common among middle-aged men and it’s important to recognize the signs.

For more information, check out:

• Behavioral Health Network: http://bhninc.org/content/emergency-services
• South Hadley Community Coalition to Prevent Suicide: http://southhadleycoalitiontopreventsuicide.wordpress.com/
• Berkshire Coalition for Suicide  Prevention: http://www.berkshirecoalition.org

In a report released last Fall, the Department of Public Health said there were 531 suicides among Massachusetts residents in 2009, nearly 3 times higher than homicides.

Read the story and watch the video on wwlp.com.

Mass. Sees More Suicides

http://www.wbur.org/2012/02/06/suicide-numbers

By The WBUR Newsroom

Feb 6, 2012, 10:37 AM
Updated at 12:00 pm, February 6th, 2012

BOSTON — Mental health advocates are calling for greater awareness as the number of suicide deaths in Massachusetts appears to be rising.

“The commonwealth of Massachusetts still has one of the lowest suicide rates in the country, and yet I think most people are startled that on average, about 500 people each year are lost to suicide,” said Roberta Hurtig, director of the suicide prevention group Samaritans. “That’s more than one a day.”

The latest data (PDF) shows 531 suicides in Massachusetts in 2009, the highest number since 1992. That number continued to rise through 2010.

Hurtig said the economy appears to be a factor in the rising numbers.

“No question, the last few years we’ve gotten more calls from people who, number one never thought they’d be calling us, but also from people who never thought they would be without the wherewithal to support their family,” Hurtig said.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention is honoring a number of local individuals and organizations at the State House Monday who have worked to prevent suicide in the state.

Award recipients include: Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez; Maura Weir, of the Cape Code Youth Suicide Prevention; Robert Judge, of South Hadley Suicide Prevention Coalition; and Annemarie Matulis, founder of the Silver City Teen Center and Statewide Advocacy for Veterans’ Empowerment.

2012 MCSP Leadership in Suicide Prevention Awards

YOU’RE INVITED
2012 Annual State House Day is February 6th

The Great Hall 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Boston, MA

Dear Friends of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention,

On Monday, February 6, 2012, the MCSP will hold its 13th State House Day. Each year, the coalition holds this awareness and educational event at the State House. The highlight of the day is the presentation of the MCSP Leadership in Suicide Prevention Awards to people and organizations from communities across Massachusetts.

Nominations come from coalition members and others who identify champions in suicide prevention deserving of statewide recognition. Awardees for the “MCSP Leadership in Suicide Prevention Awards” are then selected by a committee of previous honorees and approved by the MCSP Executive Committee. Our 2012 award recipients are:

• Representative Jeffrey Sanchez
• Maura Weir – Cape Cod Youth Suicide Prevention Group
• Robert Judge – South Hadley Suicide Prevention Coalition
• Annemarie Matulis – Founder of Silver City Teen Center
• S.A.V.E. – Statewide Advocacy for Veterans’ Empowerment being accepted by Secretary Coleman Nee of the Department of Veterans Services

We hope you will attend and bring members of your organization, school, business and community as we acknowledge some of the outstanding people and groups dedicated to suicide prevention in Massachusetts.

How social media really can help save a life

Net hunt saves suicidal teen
Henrietta Cook
January 19, 2012

Social media was used to track down a Melbourne teenager who posted a suicide note on popular blogging site Tumblr yesterday afternoon.

The young girl was taken to hospital after a Melbourne man used his detective skills to contact her relatives using Linked-In, Twitter and Facebook.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said it filled him with joy to help the young girl.

“This is the best possible outcome. We have had a couple of youth suicides in our family. It’s such a tragedy when young people have no choice and feel they have no one to turn to.”

He was first alerted to the girl’s situation on Twitter at about 2pm yesterday afternoon and knew he had to act immediately.

“I figured that using the six degrees of separation I would know someone who would know someone who would know her. I was able to do something very proactive with Twitter.”

After trawling through a handful of social media sites he eventually found the work number of one of the girl’s relatives.

“I phoned and said she needs help. I said you need to call the police.”

The girl’s mother told radio station 3AW her daughter was safe. “Social media can do great things,” she said.

Read original article here.

From Mary Lou Guarnera of South Hadley about how “Mental Health First Aid” helped her help someone.

From: Bob Judge
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 11:05 AM
To: ‘Mary Lou Guarnera’
Subject: RE: mental health 1st aid

Dear Mary Lou:

I did not save a life. Maybe you did. But in this case, the most important thing is not who saved the life. It is that you, me, Sarah Etelman, Mount Holyoke College, the Behavioral Health Network, and all who contributed to the success of the workshop together may have directly (you) or indirectly made a difference in this person’s life.

As you and I know, none of us as individuals can accomplish what we need to accomplish in this work. But working together, we can put in place the tools that, as you say, may have made a difference for this person!

…

Bob Judge
—————————————-

—–Original Message—–
From: Mary Lou Guarnera
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 9:27 AM
To: Bob Judge
Subject: mental health 1st aid

Hi Bob,
…I want to let you know how grateful I am for the Mental Health First Aid workshop. Even though I took it not knowing how useful it could potentially be, I have already used the information. I was glad I could be confident in knowing what to look for and what steps to take. I believe the person involved has taken appropriate steps to relieve the situation.

I think I know how happy this information will make you, based on your reaction to learning I had also used QPR. Thank you for making this course available. You may possibly have saved a life.

Mary Lou

Privacy vs. safety on college campuses

Interesting article about colleges and suicide threats on Boston.com on December 26th.

Save the date for the 11th Annual Suicide Prevention Conference!

Date: May 1st and 2nd, 2012

Location: The Best Western Royal Plaza, Marlborough, MA

This two-day conference has over 40 workshops that provide information to anyone interested in the prevention of self-injury and suicidal behavior across all ages.

For more information, please contact Janice at Janice.Ventre@state.ma.us.

Link to the event listing at mass.gov.

Facebook aims to help prevent suicide

By Brooke Donald
Associated Press / December 13, 2011

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Facebook is making it easier for people who express suicidal thoughts on the social networking site to get help.

A program launching Tuesday enables users to instantly connect with a crisis counselor from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline through Facebook’s “chat” messaging system.

If a friend spots a suicidal thought on someone’s page, he can report it to Facebook by clicking a link next to the comment. Facebook then sends an email to the person who posted the comment encouraging that user to call the hotline or click a link for a confidential chat.

The service is Facebook’s latest move aimed at improving safety on its site.

Facebook says the goal is to get a person in distress help as quickly as possible.

Click HERE to read the story on Boston.com.

Riverside Trauma Center Newsletter Online

Below is the opening paragraph from the Riverside Trauma Center Newsletter. Click HERE to read the full newsletter.

Welcome to the new Riverside Trauma Center Newsletter. We created this newsletter as a way to stay connected to our colleagues and supporters throughout our network. Our goal is to keep you informed about our team and the experiences we’re having with different communities and organizations. And along the way, we’ll share some interesting news, events, and research information.

Best wishes for a peaceful and safe holiday season.

Sincerely,
Larry Berkowitz, Ed.D.
Director, Riverside Trauma Center

Praise for the work of the Coalition

Praise for the work of the South Hadley Community Coalition to Prevent Suicide is coming in from suicide prevention professionals:

“Very pleased to see that there has been such a great follow through… Thank you.”

Alan Holmlund, Director
Suicide Prevention Program
Injury Prevention and Control Program
MA Dept. Public Health

 

“Congratulations. The work of your group has been remarkable in that it took a highly publicized tragic event, and put constructive energy into preventing future events…”

Larry Berkowitz, Ed.D – Director
Riverside Trauma Center