Advocates for suicide awareness to hold vigil in Stroudburg’s Courthouse Square Monday
A group of mental health advocates led by three Stroudsburg Area High School students will hold a vigil for suicide awareness at Courthouse Square this Memorial Day.
Students Gonzalo Ingram, Jessica Brady, and Bri Anunciacao organized the event, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday to honor those whose lives have been lost and affected by suicide.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming 47,500 lives in 2019.
Among younger to middle-aged individuals, it is even worse: suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44. In 2019, 534 children between the ages of 10 and 14 committed suicide.
“Silence kills, to end the stigma of mental illness, we need to speak up and be heard,” Ingram said.
Brady, who has helped organize local rallies for Christian Hall and LGBTQ+ individuals in the recent past, called particular attention to the gap between how the community addresses mental health problems and how they view the individual suffering from them, only after disaster has occurred.
More:Grief, faith and anger: Christian Hall's parents reflect on a year without their son
“Being suicidal is looked at as selfish and weak, but when someone finally collapses under the weight of depression and dies by suicide, it’s a tragedy," Brady said. "This vigil isn’t serving a purpose to just honor the souls we’ve lost to suicide, but is also a desperate plea to fix our broken mental health system and the attitude that surrounds those who may be struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts.”
Anunciacao noted that sympathy and empathy are incredibly necessary to prevent further suffering and loss."Especially after recent tragedies, it’s important to honor the lives we’ve lost and show others that they’re loved and that they aren’t alone in fighting this.”
Joining the students will be local teacher, soccer coach and mental health advocate Jim Shoopack, who recently lost his brother to suicide.
“I think this is a very appropriate way to honor all lives affected by suicide, and considering that it’s Memorial Day, to open lines of communication with and to support our veterans, considering that 20 military veterans die by suicide per day," Shoopack, who has completed 21 marathons for mental health awareness, said. "More needs to be done!”
In addition, long-time West End community organizer Hope Christman, currently running for state representative for the newly redrawn Pennsylvania House District 176, will be speaking.
The timing for the vigil further serves as an opportunity to show that anyone can be touched by mental health issues that can contribute to suicidal thoughts and actions.
According to a 2012 report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services Suicide Prevention Program, 22 veterans commit suicide each day in United States. Organizations like The 22 Project, which fundraises, sponsors research and organizes awareness campaigns for suicide, are making strides to combat mental health issues among those soldiers through programs like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
Former U.S. Navy SEAL Nicolas Mancino, who suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car bomb explosion during his service that led to changes in his mental health. Once he got in touch with The 22 Project, Mancino was able to obtain assistance to help with his issues, potentially saving his life.
"Finding out that I had a TBI, it gave me closure in that part of my life, that I still am who I was before," Mancino said. "The blast may have altered some things, some of the processes in my brain, and that I have to adjust. I was able to kind of control the negative aspects of it, and have an understanding and compassion for myself—understanding that I'm not a bad, this is just something that happened to me."
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Suicide awareness vigil to be held in Stroudsburg on Monday
