Crisis line seeks volunteers to prevent suicide

Suicide has long been a taboo topic, but recent statistics have sparked a push to place it at the forefront of local and national discussion.
It is the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. and the 11th among all ages nationwide, according to government data.
Dismal economic times have not helped the numbers, said Michele McCarthy of Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast, which runs a 24-hour multilingual crisis line that’s open to anyone in need of support.
“Our call volume has definitely gone up in the last year and a half,” McCarthy said. “People are losing the foundation of what they have — jobs, homes, loved ones. There’s a lot of desperation out there, and people are not sure where to turn to. It’s a very difficult time.”
In the past five years, 500 suicides have been reported in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, according to Suicide Prevention Service data. There were 35 suicides in Santa Cruz County in 2009, with the youngest fatality at 19 and the oldest at 77.
Women tend to make more suicide attempts, but more men succeed, McCarthy said.
“We feel more intensity with male callers. They feel like they have the responsibility to hold everything together,” she explained. “They feel it’s their fault, that they weren’t strong enough to withstand the economy, to pay the mortgage, to keep their jobs.”
The San Lorenzo Valley faced suicide at Christmas time. After losing the family home and not being able to make rent on a lease, a Lompico father of two shot himself in the family’s camping RV.
To help meet the need for support, Suicide Prevention is recruiting volunteers for its next 35-hour training session, which spans eight weeks on Tuesday nights.
McCarthy said the training teaches volunteers to listen to people who are feeling pain.
“We don’t judge or give advice, we just really listen. People are really desperate to have people fully listen to them unconditionally,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy, 45, went to a training herself after her 17-year-old nephew committed suicide in 1999. She’s now director of Crisis Services.
“I just thought, ‘How can I help?’” she said. “I didn’t want anyone to have to go through that. I went through the training process in 2000, and it’s been a really good way to give back. I now know how to respond to people. Before the training, I didn’t.”
Suicide prevention works on the idea that if suicidal people have the space to express feelings and thoughts, they will be less likely to act on them, because talking it out tends to make one feel lighter, McCarthy said.
“We live in a good, great, fine kind of world, and there aren’t a lot of spaces to say what’s really going on. Suicide prevention gives a space to do that,” McCarthy said. “And now, more than ever, is where we need volunteers because of the economy.”
At a glance
• WHAT: Suicide prevention training with Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast
• WHEN: Eight-week course; begins Tuesday, April 13
• WHERE: Santa Cruz; call for specific location
• INFO: 459-9373 or sp***@ao*.com