SUICIDE PREVENTION

Out of the Darkness: Understanding and Preventing Suicide through Research, Education and Advocacy

Tavia Smith was so unprepared for her name to be called as the Volunteer of the Year at the 2015 YWCA Women of the Year Awards that she deliberately had not written a speech beforehand. However, with over ten years of volunteerism with the North Dakota Chapter of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Smith has become one of the faces of local efforts supporting those affected by suicide, and for fundraisers for research and prevention of suicide in the Fargo/ Moorhead communities.

It was approximately ten years ago that Mary Weiler, chair of the ND Chapter of the AFSP and now member of the National Board of Directors, contacted Smith, an employee of Gate City Bank in Fargo. Though the call originated due to corporate sponsorships, Smith experienced for the first time a connection with another individual who had experienced suicide loss. It was the Weiler family who, one year after losing their daughter to suicide in 2005, coordinated the first annual “Out of the Darkness” community walk in the F/M community. Raising over $25,000 and attended by hundreds of walkers, this event subsequently laid the groundwork for the foundation of the ND Chapter of the AFSP. This chapter focuses on six main strategies to achieve its mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide: developing volunteers, fundraising, media and public relations, community education and outreach, advocacy and collaboration and survivor initiatives and support groups.

Smith was only 20 years old when her father ended his life and at that time―1987―the subject was extremely taboo in small-town North Dakota and resources were nonexistent. Having also lost her grandfather to suicide, Smith struggled with her grief: “suicide loss is so different than a typical death. It tends to be a very lonely grieving process and people don’t know what to say.” Using the example of Robin Williams’ passing, Smith explained, “Everyone is struggling with something as mental illness affects people from all walks of life.”

Over the past ten years Smith, in collaboration with Weiler and AFSP, has organized several fundraisers and events to help raise suicide awareness. From a grassroots level of incorporating a Suicide Survivors support group (hosted on the third Thursday of every month at the Atonement Lutheran Church) to the annual September Out of the Darkness Suicide Walk and the West Fargo motorcycle “Ride to Silence the Stigma” (which in 2014 was in memory of Fargo Police Lieutenant Jeff Skuza), Smith stated “a decade ago people were scared to talk about suicide, but now people are reaching out and wanting to help.” With statistics nationwide showing that veterans in particular are experiencing suicide at an alarming rate (currently 22 veterans a day lose their life to suicide), this year’s Ride to Silence the Stigma will be in memoriam of these veterans. West Fargo’s Harley Davidson, the starting point for the ride, will have 22 white crosses on their grounds in symbolic representation of these lives lost.

In addition to joining forces with Fargo’s Veterans Affairs, local school systems, clergy and coroner, Smith and the ND Chapter of the AFSP have also created a Survivors Outreach Program (SOP) working in conjunction with Fargo’s police department. Through this program the police, when attending the scene of a suicide, are accompanied by two SOP members, whose presence supports the family while the police are conducting their investigation. SOP volunteer and ND Chapter board member Jill Brandt describes feeling isolated after she lost her sister to suicide four years ago: “I don’t know how I would have made it without AFSP and the support group … I would have had nobody to talk to.”

The AFSP has also created a confidential online screening program for colleges in order to help students learn about available mental health resources. Smith’s daughter Kayla became involved in 2006 after her friend Josh died by suicide. With a background in graphic arts, Kayla has assisted with promotional material for awareness campaigns: “I want people to know the resources that are available.” Discussing how social media tends to be about “highlight reels rather than keeping it real,” Kayla identifies that being open can be difficult for many people but that “coming together and supporting each other is a catalyst for positive change.” Smith, reflecting upon how uplifting it is to be surrounded by the support and love of others who have experienced suicide, simply stated “the word ‘hope’ comes up a lot and allows survivors to move forward.” [AWM]

For Further Information

about upcoming AFSP events or for suicide prevention and support resources, please go to www.afspnd.org, the AFSP-ND Facebook page or email afspnd@gmail.com