Mention suicide and watch people avert their eyes, fumble with something in their pocket or just say, “Oh, look at the time! Must go!”
As a country, as a society, we must step into the light and take a stand to become better informed. To become better informed allows us all to be better prepared and more willing to help those in need. Did you know that suicide can be prevented?
So, the whole “country/society” thing is way too large to tackle, but we can begin right here, right now, right within our own community.
Do you know what to look for? Do you know who to call or what the next right step to take is? Did you know that there is a Suicide Prevention Task Force that meets in Taunton MA (and serves 11 more communities) every 2nd Thursday of the month, 7:00 PM, at 110 County St (Silver City Teen Center)? If you don’t live in Taunton, do you know whether or not your community has a task force to help address this public health issue?
Did you know that suicide can be prevented? Please take time to ask how someone is doing if they seem a bit “down.” And please stand still long enough to listen. And don’t be afraid to ask, “Are you considering hurting yourself?”
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Public Safety Requires Public Participation
How many shootings were there in your community this past week? How many injuries? How many deaths? How much longer will we as residents in Massachusetts, in the country as a whole, continue to tolerate this loss in values, this basic insanity?
I know how it feels to live in fear for my life and that was in a comfortable country estate, ring on third finger, left hand. But no one could help me until I broke the silence, stopped the cover-up lies and told the truth. The good news is I don't live there any more, I am free!
Let's not sit around and point fingers of blame at police departments for not solving the cases when those who can shed light, those who can identify who is doing the shooting continue to sit in silence...and yes, in fear. The government - local or state - cannot "fix this." We - those of us in the neighborhood - need to come together and speak up. Each neighborhood, city and town in this state needs to take a stand, "Not in our community!"
Recovering our communities will not happen overnight. In Taunton, we began our "peaceful revolution" a year ago. We have made substantial progress, we now have a teen center to offer a safe haven for our teens to be off the streets! But we have a long way to go to have our city safe, healthy and well in all areas of living.
Go to your police and ask what you can do to help. If you have Neighborhood Watch meetings, participate. If you don't, create them. If you can, mentor a young person, volunteer...Organize, mobilize, revolutionize (peacefully, of course)...
I know how it feels to live in fear for my life and that was in a comfortable country estate, ring on third finger, left hand. But no one could help me until I broke the silence, stopped the cover-up lies and told the truth. The good news is I don't live there any more, I am free!
Let's not sit around and point fingers of blame at police departments for not solving the cases when those who can shed light, those who can identify who is doing the shooting continue to sit in silence...and yes, in fear. The government - local or state - cannot "fix this." We - those of us in the neighborhood - need to come together and speak up. Each neighborhood, city and town in this state needs to take a stand, "Not in our community!"
Recovering our communities will not happen overnight. In Taunton, we began our "peaceful revolution" a year ago. We have made substantial progress, we now have a teen center to offer a safe haven for our teens to be off the streets! But we have a long way to go to have our city safe, healthy and well in all areas of living.
Go to your police and ask what you can do to help. If you have Neighborhood Watch meetings, participate. If you don't, create them. If you can, mentor a young person, volunteer...Organize, mobilize, revolutionize (peacefully, of course)...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Opportunity Missed..or Not
What a gift to be able to participate in the workforce investment Summer Youth Works Jobs program and, for however briefly, have the opportunity to be a positive power of example to a group of teens. In this case, about 50 young people, aged 14-19 in Taunton MA.
The Silver City Teen Center partnered with the Bristol County Training Consortium and Taunton Area School to Careers to introduce the teens to team work, leadership skills, job readiness, conflict resolution...and some practical skills too - sustainable gardens, beautification, self-expression murals, carpentry and food service. Every day opens the door to the the chance to lead by example with healthy choices -
In other words, common sense, the obvious right thing to do...so why are there so few agencies & companies willing to take on these teens and step up to this opportunity to positively influence our next generation?
Civic engagement...if I am concerned about underage drinking and over the counter drug abuse, I need to become involved in my community & raise awareness about local ordinances, the social host laws & substance abuse. If I'm concerned about youth violence, I need to set the example for ways to have healthy conflict resolution. If I am concerned about escalating suicide attempts and self-mutilation, I need to do my part to really listen to teens who are unhappy, depressed or struggling with mental illness and/or substance abuse...and give them hope that life is worth living.
The Silver City Teen Center is humbled and thrilled that we did not miss this opportunity. It's not too late to catch up...call your local agency and offer to lead...
Peace Rocks & Rules!
The Silver City Teen Center partnered with the Bristol County Training Consortium and Taunton Area School to Careers to introduce the teens to team work, leadership skills, job readiness, conflict resolution...and some practical skills too - sustainable gardens, beautification, self-expression murals, carpentry and food service. Every day opens the door to the the chance to lead by example with healthy choices -
- Respond to everyone with quiet calm and dignity
- Treat everyone equally
- Overdo the please & thank yous to set the tone
- No yelling & absolutely no profanity
- Generous servings of encouragement & compliments
- Engage as many young people as possible in decisions
In other words, common sense, the obvious right thing to do...so why are there so few agencies & companies willing to take on these teens and step up to this opportunity to positively influence our next generation?
Civic engagement...if I am concerned about underage drinking and over the counter drug abuse, I need to become involved in my community & raise awareness about local ordinances, the social host laws & substance abuse. If I'm concerned about youth violence, I need to set the example for ways to have healthy conflict resolution. If I am concerned about escalating suicide attempts and self-mutilation, I need to do my part to really listen to teens who are unhappy, depressed or struggling with mental illness and/or substance abuse...and give them hope that life is worth living.
The Silver City Teen Center is humbled and thrilled that we did not miss this opportunity. It's not too late to catch up...call your local agency and offer to lead...
Peace Rocks & Rules!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Launching a Blog! Silver City Teen Center, Suicide Prevention...
Ok, so this is probably not a great idea but let's see what happens, shall we?
Monday brings a new day to the Silver City Teen Center in Taunton Massachusetts. We will be hosting 52 of Taunton's teens in a Summer Youth Works program that is based on a "learn & serve" format. The teens will be broken into small groups to take on specific assignments from rehabbing the gym by drasticaly changing the appearance of the drab, grey concrete walls with a very bold deep purple! Purple is the color we use for violence prevention.
Another group will begin designing and planting a "Victory Garden" and learn about healthy skin care (UV rays abound), being self-sustaining in this horrific economy, math, ecology...we also have a "Clerical" group that will organize our documents and also create an informational "Resource Library." The seven week project will wrap up with refinishing the basketball court, general cleanup & flowers for beautification. On August 29th, the Summer Work teens and the SCTC teen members and their families will all be invited to a "Block Party" end of summer celebration at the teen center.
So, you ask, how is this connected to public participation? The SCTC 's very existence is the direct result of a community mobilizing to stand up against gangs, youth violence and underage drinking/substance abuse in late spring of 2008. Our teens asked for a safe haven, a place to hang out away from any threats to their well-being. Most people said it couldn't be done, but we did it thanks to collaboration and cooperation within the entire community. It's not easy, make no mistake, but if not us...then who?
Due to major budgets cuts at the federal and state levels, countless programs to support safety, health & wellness within our communities has been wiped out. We can sit around and feel badly or we can come together and seek out alternative solutions. We discovered we have huge gaps in public awareness related to suicide and suicide prevention, yet we have extremely high numbers of suicide attempts in our locale. There is little or no funding right now to help raise awareness (and save lives!), so as a community we must again mobilize to fill the gaps.
Interested in joining our peaceful revolution??? Touch base...post...let's raise the volume because we can do this, we can make our communities safer, healthier & well for ourselves and our future - the children.
Peace Rocks!
Related article from the Taunton Daily Gazette:
http://www.tauntongazette.com/homepage/x1885873517/Local-activist-lands-spot-on-governor-s-task-force
Monday brings a new day to the Silver City Teen Center in Taunton Massachusetts. We will be hosting 52 of Taunton's teens in a Summer Youth Works program that is based on a "learn & serve" format. The teens will be broken into small groups to take on specific assignments from rehabbing the gym by drasticaly changing the appearance of the drab, grey concrete walls with a very bold deep purple! Purple is the color we use for violence prevention.
Another group will begin designing and planting a "Victory Garden" and learn about healthy skin care (UV rays abound), being self-sustaining in this horrific economy, math, ecology...we also have a "Clerical" group that will organize our documents and also create an informational "Resource Library." The seven week project will wrap up with refinishing the basketball court, general cleanup & flowers for beautification. On August 29th, the Summer Work teens and the SCTC teen members and their families will all be invited to a "Block Party" end of summer celebration at the teen center.
So, you ask, how is this connected to public participation? The SCTC 's very existence is the direct result of a community mobilizing to stand up against gangs, youth violence and underage drinking/substance abuse in late spring of 2008. Our teens asked for a safe haven, a place to hang out away from any threats to their well-being. Most people said it couldn't be done, but we did it thanks to collaboration and cooperation within the entire community. It's not easy, make no mistake, but if not us...then who?
Due to major budgets cuts at the federal and state levels, countless programs to support safety, health & wellness within our communities has been wiped out. We can sit around and feel badly or we can come together and seek out alternative solutions. We discovered we have huge gaps in public awareness related to suicide and suicide prevention, yet we have extremely high numbers of suicide attempts in our locale. There is little or no funding right now to help raise awareness (and save lives!), so as a community we must again mobilize to fill the gaps.
Interested in joining our peaceful revolution??? Touch base...post...let's raise the volume because we can do this, we can make our communities safer, healthier & well for ourselves and our future - the children.
Peace Rocks!
Related article from the Taunton Daily Gazette:
http://www.tauntongazette.com/homepage/x1885873517/Local-activist-lands-spot-on-governor-s-task-force
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