OPINION
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019
EDITORIAL
Breaking the silence on suicide
hat 825 Oregonians
died in a single year
by suicide is a sober-
ing assessment of our col-
lective ability to help those
who feel trapped in their
own despair.
That it’s such a hid-
den statistic, however, is an
embarrassing reflection of
our collective ignorance.
Hundreds more people died
by suicide in Oregon in
2017 than by traffic crashes,
firearms or drug overdose.
The suicide rate in Oregon
is well above the national
average, as it has been for
the past three decades. Yet
this undeniable public health
issue has lacked the public
attention and sustained out-
cry that it desperately needs.
Some of that stems from
the stigma that persists
around mental illness and
suicide, shutting off con-
versation or even acknowl-
edgment that a suicide has
T
occurred. Some may stem
from the fear of encour-
aging “copycat” behavior.
Regardless of the motiva-
tion, however, our families,
schools, communities and
media organizations have
too often chosen the easy
way out by simply keeping
silent. Meanwhile, the sui-
cide rate in Oregon and the
United States has continued
to climb.
Clearly, silence hasn’t
worked. This week, news
organizations around the
state are collaborating to
bring attention to the prob-
lem of suicide, report on
populations at highest risk
and share resources on how
to prevent it. While the
“Breaking the Silence” proj-
ect won’t necessarily pro-
vide answers, it aims to start
a statewide effort to con-
front it. Using responsi-
ble reporting practices that
examine, not sensational-
IT REQUIRES THE
WILLINGNESS TO HAVE
THOSE UNCOMFORTABLE
CONVERSATIONS IN
THE FIRST PLACE.
ize, suicide, these stories can
provide the common under-
standing, motivation, tools
and questions that can help
the community mobilize
against this public health
threat.
The data show just how
widespread a problem this
is. Oregon’s suicide rate is
14th highest in the coun-
try and suicide is the second
leading cause of death for
those ages 10 to 34, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority. One fifth of those
who kill themselves are
veterans. More than half
the deaths are caused by
firearms.
While those statis-
tics may seem daunting,
they can also provide pos-
sible avenues where lead-
ers can make a difference.
Such data, in the aggregate,
can help build support for
increased funding for veter-
ans’ health services or pro-
vide tangible prevention
options, such as the 2017
law that allows family mem-
bers and police officers to
petition a court to take away
firearms from someone at
risk for suicide or causing
harm to others.
We also need to recog-
nize that Oregon’s youth
are struggling. Nearly 9
percent of eighth-graders
self-reported having tried
to kill themselves one or
more times in the previous
year and nearly double that
percentage considered it,
according to Oregon Health
Authority data. That chil-
dren just entering their teen
years would even think of
suicide as an option should
be its own open-and-shut
case for more counsel-
ing, support and training in
schools. And health officials
can lead by providing guid-
ance for families, schools,
health departments, physi-
cians and nonprofits on how
to talk about suicide both as
a general public health issue
and on an individual basis.
This is not an insur-
mountable problem.
Resources already exist and
show that crisis counsel-
ing lines and other outreach
efforts make a difference.
Even friends and fam-
ily members can take steps
to help a loved one who is
struggling by asking a series
of questions about whether
they have wished they were
dead, thought about kill-
ing themselves or made any
plans toward killing them-
selves. But it requires the
willingness to have those
uncomfortable conversa-
tions in the first place.
The effects of suicide
reach far beyond the indi-
vidual. The injury is borne
by families, friends, com-
munities and the public at
large. It’s long past time to
start treating it that way.
This editorial, written by
the editorial board of The
Oregonian, is running in
newspapers around the state
this week as part of Break-
ing the Silence, a collabora-
tive effort to address suicide
in a productive way.
GUEST COLUMN
GUEST COLUMN
Choose to continue the sentence; Losses affect students
who are left behind
to stay and fight another day
used to consider the semi-
That same day, I drew myself a
colon the unwanted child
picture of a semicolon and hung
of punctuation. It is usually
it on my wall. Her story and the
misused or mistakenly typed on
simple drawing of that semico-
lon changed my entire view of
the keyboard if you forgot to
the unwanted child of punctua-
hold shift while pressing for the
tion; I was left with a yearning to
colon button. In writing, semi-
colons are used when the author learn more.
could have used a period
I discovered that
but chooses to con-
there is a movement
nect clauses for a lon-
called Project Semico-
lon. Amy Bleuel started
ger, more interesting
this non-profit organi-
sentence. But now, the
zation after she lost her
semicolon has become
father to suicide. Since
greater than a simple
Ericka Wells
2013, this movement
punctuation mark.
The semicolon
has helped over 5.2 mil-
lion people. They follow the
changed for me when I saw a
quote my friend shared with me:
picture of it in a friend’s room. I
“A semicolon is used when an
asked her what it stood for, and
author could’ve chosen to end
she replied, “It’s when an author
their sentence, but chose not to.
could’ve chosen to end their sen-
tence, but chose to continue
The author is you, and the sen-
instead.” I fell silent, working out tence is your life.” Project Semi-
colon’s website holds valuable
the reasoning behind her words.
She then told me her story
articles and resources for anyone
starting with her middle school
experiencing depression, sui-
cidal thoughts, loneliness, and/or
friend. They would draw semi-
colons on their wrists with eye-
other mental diseases, and seeks
liner (so it wouldn’t smudge off) to help with every struggle.
as a reminder of hope for their
From this movement, tattoos
life’s hardships. She suffers from of semicolons have spread like
ADHD which causes her to have wildfire. These tattoos come in
anxiety; she has also experienced all different forms, from sim-
ple to extravagant pieces of art;
depression. I realized then that
there is no limit to the creativ-
it related to survival and hope.
I
ity. Many tattoos I’ve seen are
with words like “cont;nue,” or
“warr;or,” or “surv;ve.” But the
most impactful tattoo I’ve seen
is a heartbeat that goes flat, but
at the end, there is a semico-
lon, and the heartbeat returns to
normal. It shows that they tried
to end their (life) sentence and
start another one (death), but
they decided to fight and survive
another day.
The semicolon has taken on
many different meanings. For
some, it’s in remembrance of
a loved one; for others, it is a
symbol of hope, optimism, sup-
port, and/or survival. It symbol-
izes strength, where people can
rise from their ashes like a phoe-
nix and become stronger and
beautiful once again.
For me, I see hope and inspi-
ration to achieve my dreams
and goals. Every time I look at
the semicolon on my wall, I feel
inspired to keep pushing through
the day and have confidence
that everything will work out in
the end. But more importantly, I
know that the semicolon is more
than punctuation.
Ericka Wells is a student at
Hermiston High School and an
aspiring author writing her own
book series.
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don’t think it’s an exaggeration
this has had on us is weird. There
when I say that my class has
are some days when we think we
gone through a lot.
see someone around school, but
then we remember that they passed
I never thought this would be
earlier that year or even longer
something I’d experience. When I
ago. We also think about the last
think about it now, I never thought
time we saw one of our
I’d experience it this much.
classmates, and how not
From the moment I’ve
long after that they were
started high school, my class
gone.
has experienced the loss of a
Some of us live with
classmate at least once every
regret. That goes hand
year.
in hand with replaying
It’s a strange day when it
all the times we’ve seen
happens. I remember the feel-
ing each time right before
Karyssa Fisher the ones we’ve lost. We
wish we could have said
we were told. Usually, we
something, or that we may have
see some important staff mem-
ber walk in with a single piece of
treated them better. We wish we
paper. Now, my class has grown to
reached out more. It’s all we think
despise this piece of paper because
about. And eventually, the ones we
lost find their way into our dreams.
it’s the same thing each year now.
Then we find ourselves waking up
Anytime we see one of the staff
members walk in with that familiar the next morning with a jolt, not
being able to think clearly the rest
demeanor, we already know what
is about to happen. We are told that of the day.
My class graduates next year. I
this isn’t normal. The saddest part
think about this part a lot because I
about that is that it’s become our
know that this would be something
new normal; we now expect it to
that is bound to come up.
happen each year.
When we’re up there thinking
Parents of students who have
about how we made it, we’ll also
been going through this may have
be thinking about the ones who
a hard time understanding it.
didn’t.
They may not know what is going
We will carry our memory of
through their child’s mind. Don’t
them with us for a long time.
worry, because we don’t know
Karyssa Fisher is a junior at
either. I can barely find the words
to write about it. The kind of effect Hermiston High School.
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