Every 18 minutes.....

Every 18 minutes someone in the US dies by suicide. That's 3 every hour. 80 a day. 560 A WEEK. 2,240 A MONTH. APPROXIMATELY 26,880 A YEAR! That's in the United States alone! I was driving home the other day and I heard a commercial for food safety. Put your leftovers in the fridge to prevent food poisoning. Because obviously food poisoning is preventable. The commercial goes on to say that this year, almost 3,000 people will die from food posioning. While that is very sad, and my prayers go out to the families of those almost 3,000 people... what about the 26,880 familes that will have to go through the pain, confusion, guilt, stress, and unimaginable loss of a loved one to suicide? How is it there is a budget for a commercial on the radio several times daily to try to prevent almost 3,000 deaths, yet everyone is so hush hush about the almost 30,000 suicides? Suicide is JUST AS PREVENTABLE as food posioning! The stigma and shame that comes with mental illnesses and suicides is ridiculous. We, as a whole need to open our eyes and realize what is happening in our own backyard. We need to reach out to those in need. Pray for those who are lost. Open our hearts to those who feel like they are unloved. One way to help is walk in one of the many Out of the Darkness walks happening this fall around the country. Here are the ones in Texas:
Lubbock: September 16
San Antonio: September
Midland: October 6
Houston: November 3
Witchita Falls: November 3
Austin: November 4
Dallas: November 10
Ediburg: November 17
November 17th is also the International Survivors of Suicide day. There will be conferences held around the world to talk about the unique kind of pain that comes from suicide and so that you can be introduced to people in your area who are going through the same kind of loss. You can find more information on these at the website. www.asp.org Please reach out to those who need help. Not everyone will ask on their own.