OPINION: Speaking out about suicide
Community Contributor | 2-19-2010 | Comments |
| Print this Page
From Hub City Livin' with comments from Maurice Harr and Jorge Fuentes. Compton resident Troy Campbell -- aka "The Youth Whisperer" -- has recently begun a series of short video clips where he addresses youth issues. His latest installments are focused specifically on suicide. Here is the first of them.
In this compelling video Campbell speaks further to the issue of suicide after a 21 year-old Georgia mother drowned one of her children, tried to kill another, and then shot herself. "Every hour and 45 minutes another young person commits suicide," says Campbell. What could you do in an hour and 45 minutes to stop them?
According to Campbell, we can all play a part in deterring at-risk youths from contemplating suicide. All it takes is an open mind, and awareness.
"By the time a person is brave enough to commit suicide they have already reached out and been ignored several times," wrote Campbell on the Hub City Livin forum. "Ongoing dialogue with young people where they are able to express themselves without being judged is necessary."
I agree with Troy in that we can all try to positively influence a young discouraged person. I personally do make an effort to reach out to students at my college that seem to be looked down upon, be it for their disabilities, a handicap, or just their introverted personality. I suggest we try to look beyond their exterior appearance and notice the person they are inside... that's the part of us that we need to be at peace with and helping someone else find that peace is equally important.
Dialogue is definitely necessary. It's true that young people at risk of suicide are often rejected and take defeat too personally. They act distant and detached, but this can also be seen as a virtue. If they practiced emotional detachment they would realize that other people don't have the power to make them hurt, unless they give them that power by taking their comments too personally. Youths contemplating suicide could have strong characters and not know it. It's a cycle. Their minds process things differently because of their experiences, yet it's their very own mentality that continuously attracts negativity.
Watch more from The Youth Whisperer on his YouTube channel.
For more information or to find help for anyone contemplating suicide, call the national suicide helpline on 1-800-273-TALK or visit Kevin's Cause on Hub City Livin'.Discussion point: Many of us have been through hard times in our lives. What was the most inspiring thing anyone ever said to you? How did it change your perspective? Can a motivating word save a life?
Tags: compton hub city livin suicide the youth whisperer youth