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Recent Deaths March, 2010 There have been three deaths in 2010 of Cornell students who have jumped off of local bridges. While this sounds like a lot: - Cornell student deaths by suicide do not exceed the national averages. - Because of the public nature of our gorges, a death by jumping in Ithaca is more readily visible to the public and the media than other methods of suicide.
If you need help or are concerned about someone else, you can - Call our 24/7 Crisisline at (607)272-1616 or 1-800-273-TALK, or - Contact, if Cornell student or staff are involved, contact the Gannett Clinic at (607)255-5155. For more information from Cornell, click here. SPCS: What YOU can do:
We at Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County (SPCS) join the Cornell community in working to prevent suicide in
SPCS was founded to address suicide by jumping and to support the Cornell and
SPCS fully endorses the use of opportunity barriers in preventing suicide. Restriction of means in general and bridge barriers in particular represent the most effective proven way of prevent deaths. We have supported the placement of bridge barriers since the late 1970’s, when then Executive Director
In the last 12 years, at least 18 people, students and not, have died by jumping off of one of the bridges around Cornell, with another 5 jumping at Taughannock State Park. More often than not, suicide is an impulsive gesture, and an opportunity barrier provides a delay which can let the mind clear a bit. If there is no easy, quick, or romantic way to die, the impulse to jump is thwarted before an attempt is made. Studies have shown that if an intended means of death (including a specific bridge) is not available, generally a person will not seek another way (or bridge). In addition, research shows that many persons who attempt suicide and are unsuccessful instantly regret the attempt, and 90% of those who attempt do not go on to die by suicide.
We recognize that the beauty of the gorges is important for our community and our visitors. Visually acceptable yet effective barriers can be designed – examples are the Luminous Veil on a viaduct in
See John Draper/National Suicide Prevention Lifeline paper for more background
The Crisisline, 272-1616
The 24 hour Crisisline 272-1616 is available to anyone in this area, whenever they need support in any kind of crisis. The line is not just for suicidal people. We encourage people to call when they are troubled, and to do so long before they might become suicidal. We can also provide support to a person concerned about a friend or family who is seeming very depressed and perhaps suicidal. Our Crisisline is accredited and is part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network that answers 1-800-273-TALK and 1-800-SUICIDE. Cornell also has its own resources for faculty and staff, including the EARS peer listening program.
Signage for help
We have recently put wallet-size red magnets listing our Crisisline number on four of the bridges around Cornell. Signage at places where someone might try to kill themselves provides the distressed individual with the option of reaching out for help. While the placing of hotline phones on bridges has been tried in various places with limited effectiveness, we are fortunate today that most people have a cell phone on them which they can use to seek help. The magnet reminds an individual, “you have another option,” even when he/she may be most suicidal. We would like to encourage Cornell and the City of
Training
We at SPCS can provide members of any community with training in how to watch and listen for the signs of suicide and training about intervention. While Cornell has done an admirable job of providing training to many staff, including library personnel, we believe even more training will help. We offer a 2-day intervention workshop called Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, which would be helpful for police,
End the stigma
Developing and communicating a University-wide culture of openness about mental health issues and suicide is important in creating the comfort-zone within which a student may be more likely to ask for help when each needs it. This begins when everyone is encouraged not to shy away from the word by being euphemistic or avoiding. In considering this option, it should be recognized that such posturing is universal, that Americans are hard-wired to whisper when it comes to suicide. It’s not unlike the C-word in the fifties and AIDS in the eighties when the phrase “Silence Equals Death” was spawned. When it comes to suicide, unfortunately, the phrase still rules.
In particular, Cornell, from the President on down, must be willing and able to speak the word “suicide.” It is an unfortunate reality. And yet, thousands of people in our community are thinking about it – perhaps whether they feel like dying, or their concern about making Cornell a suicide-safer community. We need an environment where suicide is no longer a whispered word, so that silence no longer controls community conversation. Silence equals death. We at SPCS are desensitized about the word. However, at the excellent Lift Your Spirit event 3/17, several key Cornell leaders danced around the word, seeming unable to say it. We don’t like it, but we can now talk about drinking being a problem with students. We have to also be able to talk about depression, mental health problems, and suicide being a problem. Not in headlines, but in our conversations. We do commend an increased openness in the past week about suicide, including talking about students withdrawing during the term as a reasonable way to get through a tough time.
How you can help
1. Be a caring member of your community. Know the signs of suicide. Realize that intervention can be uncomfortable, but do it anyway. Ask how someone is doing if they seem unusually depressed. Listen to that person’s concerns. If it might be merited, get help for someone through your resources or the Crisisline, 272-1616 or 1-800-273-TALK. It’s ok to ask about suicide – you won’t be giving someone an idea, and breaking the stigma about “suicide” is a critical step in making it easier, more ok, for people to get help when they need it. We also provide training in suicide awareness and intervention – from custom 1 hour programs to the full, internationally proven two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) program, next offered in
2. Volunteer! You can join us in answering the cries for help from others in our community. Volunteering on the Crisisline provides you with some life-changing training and experience. Become an expert - we provide almost 50 hours of training to prepare you for any call you might get. Please contact Christina at 272-1505 or Crisisline@IthacaCrisis.org for more information.
3. Support bridge barriers – help make permanent barriers a reality.
4. Support permanent signage on the bridges.
5. Support us financially Help us continue to provide a safety net in the community. Individuals and organizations such as Cornell operate in the system they have created which works well in good times, and provides access to support in tough times. Then there are the moments of true crisis, like last week at Cornell, when even greater resources are needed, such as SPCS. We were here to supply magnets and post them on bridges, to answer the calls of upset or concerned students and their families. We are here with expertise in bridge barriers and other research on suicide, and we have been quietly supporting Cornell through this.
But this back-up capacity is not free – it costs to have our staff available for all sorts of traumatic emergencies, and it costs to train and support our volunteers as they answer the phone. On campus, Change for Change is raising money for SPCS this spring. We would encourage others to earmark money for the support that SPCS offers.
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