Suicide in America: We need to do so much better
I wouldn't know a Kate Spade handbag if the woman next to me on the bus had one on her lap. What I know most about her is that she died today. Suicide.
I do remember the sound of pain and anguish in the voice of the person telling me my friend Les had shot and killed himself. That was 26 years ago. I can still hear her voice.
We need to do so much better on mental health issues in this country. SO. MUCH. BETTER!!!
It was August of 1992. My friend had bought a handgun a few months earlier. I was surprised because we had talked about how we both hated guns. He told me he was taking up target shooting at a range. He said it was fun and asked me to come along with him numerous times. In August of 1992, I was too busy with work, a wife, and two daughters to go shoot guns. I was exhausted all the time. It was too much to just listen much less find out what was really going on.
As a friend, I needed to do better. SO. MUCH. BETTER!!
There's a stigma about mental health problems in America...still! When we hear about someone who is suffering, we tend to run away instead of trying to help. Whenever there are budget cuts, mental health facilities are the first to lose funding. No wonder there are millions of veterans dealing with PTSD or depression who can't get help. No wonder a large percentage of our homeless community, living on the street, have mental health issues and can't get help. We need to do better. SO. MUCH. BETTER!!
I can't imagine how much pain Kate Spade must have been in to do what she did today. I can't imagine how much pain my friend Les was in to do what he did twenty-six years ago. I do know we need to spend more money on mental health instead of taking it away. I do know that although we are doing better about erasing the stigma of mental health problems, we have to do more.
Our goal needs to be no more Kate's. No more Les's. No more fill in name of the person in your life who has died due to suicide.
We need to do better. We have to better. SO. MUCH. BETTER!!
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