street roots
Aug. 2, 2013
VISTA BRIDGE from page 8
anticipate u n til it is erected?
B.K.: We have a volunteer patrol
scheduled through Aug. 24 right now. The
barrier is supposed to be up Aug. 15. To be
safe, we extended the patrol schedule a
week beyond that, but if it seems that it will
be later than that then we will organize
more volunteers.
There is still the problem of people
jumping — most recently a man jumped on
July 16th. We realized that we needed a fix
before the barrier. We worked with Oregon
Partnership Lines for Life. They do a Safe
Talk program, that trains volunteers to
connect people with resources, if they need
it. We try to have patrols up on the bridge
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
S.Z.: So have yo u r volunteers had an
interaction with someone who is contemplating
suicide?
B .K .: So far all of us have talked to
people who have been distraught. Three of
us have been on the bridge and talked to a
person who said they had been
contemplating it. We have been patrolling
for one week.
We are really just there to let people talk
and to listen. We have a resource sheet that
we offer.
If it’s an emergency situation, 911 is
contacted.
Vista Bridge is one.
B.K.: Then work with us to build
something architecturally appropriate. We
love the bridge as much as anybody else,
but we need to have it so that it’s safe.
There are a lot of really lonely people that
feel isolated and alone. To have that human
contact, can be life changing.
S.Z.: Another criticism is that people will
fin d another way to end their lives.
B.K.: They might. They might also go up
there and see the barrier and think about it.
But something that is historic and has been
listed as one of the top places in North
America to commit suicide, will no longer
be available.
Typically, they say that if a person goes
somewhere to kill themselves and there is
something there to stop them, 93 percent
will never go through with it. That’s
incredible.
S.Z.: Another big objection on the project is
that the money needs to be invested in mental
health services.
B.K.: Take those 17 people who have
died since 2004, then add all of those lives
of the people who witness or are affected by
the suicide and the emergency services, and
Tri M et stops and the train stops and think
how much that impacts the whole city.
Think about how much that costs. Is that
$236,000 really that much?
S.Z.: I wonder i f the fo u r suicides an d the
m edia attention that the Vista Bridge is
getting right now draws people out in a way?
B .K .: Media does not cause suicide.
People have been jumping off this bridge
since 1925.
I’d love to see the patrols continue onto
all of the bridges in Portland, specifically
the Fremont Bridge.
S.Z.: There are a num ber o f objections to
the barrier, the obstruction o f the view from the
§.7,.-. Ju m p in g o ff the Vista Bridge affects so
many people, not ju st the friends an d fam ily.
B.K.: When you think about the impact, a
person jumps. The M A X train stops, the
driver and all of the people on the train see
the body and are traumatized. Then all of
the pedestrians and cars that come by, even
if the drivers of those cars don’t actually see
the body, they are all traumatized. And the
people who are living under bridges, what
about th em ?... When I’m here late at night,
I see many people looking for shelter. There
are often people who sleep in the veranda of
our building. ... People don’t think about
that.
People who witness that are impacted.
They hold it inside. And maybe they have a
drug or alcohol problem.
P H O T O B Y SUE
ZALOKAR
A m an reads the
inspirational
w ritings on the side
o f the Vista Bridge
S.Z.: O r m ental health issues o f their own.
B.K.: Absolutely. Everybody here has
been affected. One of the business owners
down the street, and
people who have
worked for him, have
witnessed actual
"Typically^ they say that II a
jumpers.
person goes somewhere to
Think about that.
Some people who
k ill themselves ami there Is
witness a suicide
something there to stop
suffer from post
them^ S3 percent w ill never
traumatic stress
syndrome. One person go through with It, That's
was so traumatized
Incredible/"
that he couldn’t work.
He just shut down.
Many family
members and friends
come here, too. They want to know, “Where
did they land?” They all have their
processes and how they deal with it. It is
really heavy.
S.Z.: We’re talking about m illions o f dollars
to build a perm anent architecturally
appropriate barrier.
B.K.: We’ve heard $2.5 - $3 million. We
can think of a million reasons to not have
this temporary barrier. If you don’t like it,
then work as a group to get this moving so
that we can get something architecturally
appropriate in place. Don’t be a person not
doing anything, not talking about it. Get up.
Stand up and do something. We don’t have
to be adversarial. We can be friends. We
can be a community working together.
That’s what Portland is about. Stand up,
speak out and do something. Talking with
other people, it saves lives.