Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Event raises suicide awareness
According to the American Association for Suicidology, there are more than 30,000 suicides annually. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are more likely to attempt suicide than other group.
A show of support for the LGBTQ community will take place will take place from 7-10 p.m. on Friday at the Red Raven espresso parlor located at 14 Roberts ST. N., Fargo.
This event will include live music, a poetry reading, stories of coming out and information for anybody seeking information about suicide prevention. It is free and open to the public.
A group from the communities and organizations social work class, in sponsorship with Firstlink—a local organization dedicated to identifying and accessing community resources—is putting on the event.
“This event is to show support for (LGBTQ), especially for high schoolers,” said Shannon Bacon, a member of the group and the training and educating coordinator for Firstlink.
The event will feature music from Eden Parker, Fancy That and Sarah Piersol, who will also be talking about her experience coming out.
The event is to highlight the problem of youth suicide, especially among LGBTQ teens and young adults. Many issues contribute to the high suicide rate of LGBTQ youth, but according to Bacon, the largest is the lack of support.
“It’s not being gay that makes someone suicidal it’s the lack of social support,” Bacon said.
Youth that feel suicidal have a place to turn to, such as church, parents or friends. However, many LGBTQ youth are unable to turn towards these and have no place to go.
This is why the main point of the event is to make the suicide prevention hotline and other resources more known to those that need them.
“If someone is feeling suicidal, call the hotline or talk to someone you trust,” Bacon said.
Bacon wants it to be known that there is support out there for those that need it.
Anybody thinking about suicide can call Firstlink’s 24-hour hotline at 2.1.1 or the suicide hotline at 1.800.273.TALK. Information and other resources can be found at Firstlink’s Web site http://www.myfirstlink.org.
“This event shows that support is available in our community,” Bacon said.
Anybody with questions about the event can e-mail Sarah Morris at .