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St. Nicholas-St. Mary’s students explore ancestry

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Man acting suspiciously in parked vehicle had drug paraphernalia, police say

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; An average of one suicide per week occurs in Luzerne County.</p><p>Suicidal men tend to use a gun to end their lives, while women either hang themselves, use carbon monoxide, or take an overdose of pills.</p><p>According to statistics compiled by the Luzerne County Coroner&#8217;s Office and Family Service Association, people who take their own lives don&#8217;t seek help.</p><p>&#8220;If someone really wants to commit suicide, they&#8217;re not going to call us,&#8221; said Tom Foley, director of HelpLine at Family Service Association.</p><p>Those who do commit suicide seldom leave a note to explain why they did it, leaving families to struggle with grief, sorrow and feeling of guilt &#8212; asking themselves what they could have done to prevent their loved one from taking their life.</p><p>Luzerne County Coroner William Lisman points to the statistics to show the seriousness of the problem. He and Deputy Coroner Mary Wallace reported these numbers of suicides in Luzerne County since 2011:</p><p>&#8226; 2011 - 57</p><p>&#8226; 2012 - 53</p><p>&#8226; 2013 - 53</p><p>&#8226; 2014 - 55</p><p>&#8226; 2015 - 54</p><p>There have been four suicides so far in 2016, Lisman said.</p><p>As the statistics go up, so does the concern for families. Several support groups exist in the county for families to access help. Family members of suicide victims can attend meetings with other families, discuss their situations and search for ways to cope with the reality of losing a loved one.</p><p>Denise Mengak, facilitator of the Luzerne County Suicide Bereavement Support Group at Catholic Social Services, serves as co-chair of the Greater Northeast Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.</p><p>She said there is no single reason which explains suicide.</p><p>&#8220;At that moment, most individuals experience mental illness which distorts their thinking and their ability to cope,&#8221; Mengak said. &#8220;Solutions that would make sense to others are not viable options within their isolated mental perspective.&#8221;</p><p>Mengak said a life issue may be the last identifiable external stressor, but it does not represent the complete reason for the death.</p><p>&#8220;An individual may never have had to deal with that type of triggering event before, but the reality is that their ability to cope was impaired,&#8221; Mengak said. &#8220;Others may experience similar crises, but do not resort to suicide.&#8221;</p><p>Mengak went on to say there is a combined condition involving brain function, coping style and possibly substance abuse that leads to suicide.</p><p>&#8220;I often hear from survivors that their loved one did not communicate their level of despair to them; this leaves a lasting wound,&#8221; she said.</p><p><strong>CDC reports</strong></p><p>According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA, suicide is a significant problem in the United States because:</p><p>&#8226; 41,149 people killed themselves in 2013.</p><p>&#8226; More than 494,169 people with self-inflicted injuries were treated in U.S. emergency departments in 2013.</p><p>&#8226; Suicides result in an estimated $44.6 billion in combined medical and work loss costs.</p><p>The CDC says these numbers underestimate the problem.</p><p>&#8220;Many people who have suicidal thoughts or make suicide attempts never seek services,&#8221; the CDC report states.</p><p>Suicide occurs across all age brackets. According to the CDC report:</p><p>&#8226; In 2013, suicide was the second leading cause of death among persons aged 15-24 years, the second among persons aged 25-34 years, the fourth among persons aged 35-54 years, the eighth among persons aged 55-64 years; the 17th among persons 65 years and older and the 10th leading cause of death across all ages.</p><p>&#8226; Suicide also affects the health of others and the community. When people die by suicide, their family and friends often experience shock, anger, guilt and depression. The medical costs and lost wages associated with suicide also take a toll on the community.</p><p>&#8226; Males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate of females and represent 77.9 percent of all suicides.</p><p>&#8226; Females are more likely than males to have suicidal thoughts.</p><p>&#8226; Suicide is the seventh leading cause of death for males and the 14th leading cause for females.</p><p>&#8226; An estimated 2.7 million people made a plan about how they would attempt suicide in the past year.</p><p>The CDC report states there is no single cause of suicide and several factors can increase a person&#8217;s risk for attempting or dying by suicide. However, the CDC reports, having these risk factors does not always mean suicide will occur.</p><p>The risk factors for suicide identified in the CDC report include previous suicide attempt(s), history of depression or other mental illness. alcohol or drug abuse, family history of suicide or violence, physical illness and feeling alone.</p><p><strong>Prevention programs stand ready</strong></p><p>Kathy Wallace, of the Northeast Suicide Prevention Initiative, said the agency&#8217;s goal is to prevent suicides through educational programs and support groups. She said suicide crosses all age brackets and the reasons are many, indicating there is not usually one reason a person takes his or her own life.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s never a simple reaction to one specific thing,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Wallace said families of suicide victims come to support group meetings and they usually &#8220;have no clue&#8221; as to why their loved one committed suicide.</p><p>&#8220;Suicide is a very different death for survivors to handle,&#8221; Wallace said. &#8220;We try to learn what they need so we can help them.&#8221;</p><p>Cheyenne Huffman, 18, a senior at Northeast Area High School, is doing what she can to prevent suicide among her peers.</p><p>Huffman attended the monthly meeting of the Luzerne County Suicide Intervention Committee and told how her friend nearly took her own life during the school year.</p><p>&#8220;She was being bullied,&#8221; Huffman said of her friend.</p><p>While her friend was out of school for an extended period, Huffman said several rumors were rampant throughout the school district. To combat this, Huffman started a support group.</p><p>She lectures classes at her high school and throughout the Northwest Area School District on bullying and other matters. She has set up a mentoring program where high school students talk one-on-one with middle school students.</p><p>&#8220;My friend is the reason why I started doing this,&#8221; Huffman said. &#8220;I speak to students in all grades. Most students feel we still need to do more.&#8221;</p><p>At Family Service Association, Foley and Executive Director Mike Zimmerman said HelpLine, which can be accessed by dialing 211, is a resource available 24 hours a day, but not many of those contemplating suicide seek help.</p><p>&#8220;We deal mostly with those who are unsure or who are making threats for attention,&#8221; Foley said.</p><p>Foley and Zimmerman said many calls come in from families of suicide victims.</p><p>&#8220;They ask us what more they could have done to prevent it,&#8221; Zimmerman said. &#8220;And they struggle with not knowing why they didn&#8217;t see it coming.&#8221;</p><p>Foley said he and other HelpLine counselors try to convince callers a loved one&#8217;s suicide was not their fault.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a personal decision that the person made,&#8221; Zimmerman said. &#8220;You can&#8217;t take responsibility for it.&#8221;</p><p>Foley said HelpLine gets about one or two calls per month from people contemplating suicide. Counselors try to extract as much information as they can, such as name, address and whether the person is alone at the time. Once they establish a rapport with the caller, the counselors can then begin to recommend appropriate programs for help. They also offer alternative ways to deal with the caller&#8217;s particular problem.</p><p>Last year, HelpLine, established in 1972, received some 95,000 calls from people with all sorts of problems &#8212; 19,000 of those came via the 211 line, which Foley noted, covers 17 counties.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Family Service Association Executive Director Mike Zimmerman talks about the number of suicide calls received by the 211 HelpLine. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020516suicides2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Family Service Association Executive Director Mike Zimmerman talks about the number of suicide calls received by the 211 HelpLine. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020516suicides3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tom Foley, left, and Mike Zimmerman talk about the 211 HelpLine. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020516suicides3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tom Foley, left, and Mike Zimmerman talk about the 211 HelpLine. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020516suicides4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mike Zimmerman talks about the number of suicide calls received by the 211 HelpLine. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020516suicides4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Mike Zimmerman talks about the number of suicide calls received by the 211 HelpLine. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/suicide-main-2-19-16.pdf">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/suicide-main-2-19-16.pdf</photo3><caption3></caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/suicide-cause-2-19-16.pdf">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/suicide-cause-2-19-16.pdf</photo4><caption4></caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/suicide-gender-2-19-16.pdf">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/suicide-gender-2-19-16.pdf</photo5><caption5></caption5><photoCredit5>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020516suicides1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Chris Hughes, left, and Aimie Voelker answer 211 HelpLine calls. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020516suicides1.jpg</photo6><caption6>Chris Hughes, left, and Aimie Voelker answer 211 HelpLine calls. </caption6><photoCredit6>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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suicide-main-2-19-16.pdf

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Suicide occurs about once a week in Luzerne County support groups available for those left behind