FRIDAY
October 28, 2011
A division of
Vol. 26 No. 86
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COMOX VALLEY RECORD
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ANNIVERSARY
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Youth helping youth considering suicide
CREEPY, CRAWLY
Lindsay Chung Record Staff
It all started with a conversation. And, it, in turn, has sparked a lot of conversation in the community about suicide — a subject often kept quiet or considered taboo. Twenty-year-old Ashley Anness of Courtenay, a Highland Secondary School graduate, and 17-yearold Brad Darling of Comox, a current Highland student, were talking about suicide Monday night after learning of the tragic death of Georges P. Vanier Secondary School student Candice Shields. They created the Comox Valley Suicide Awareness Group on Facebook. “The conversation started with us just talking about how sad it was that people keep committing suicide in the Valley and how many we’ve seen in the last few years,” said Anness. They created the Facebook group to build awareness about suicide, and they’re using Twitter and Google Plus to try to raise awareness as well. “It’s gotten really bad,” said Darling. “We said we’ve got to really do something about it. There’s been talk of doing it, but no one’s just done it, so we finally just did it.” “If we don’t do something as youth, nothing is going to be done,” added 18-year-old Tara Sedar of Comox, another Highland graduate, who, along with fellow Highland graduate 21-year-old Jordan Moreau of Courtenay, has also played a big role in getting the group started. There have been five suicides by people aged 19 and younger in the Valley since January 2009, according to the regional coroner. The youth know of four teen suicides since the summer. To start, the group is focusing on providing awareness. “It’s also so people can share their stories, and a lot of people have,” said Anness, adding people have also said they want to share their stories but aren’t ready, and the group will be there to give
The Valley is full of Halloween events. ■ A17, 22, 24, 25
ROCKIN’ & ROLLIN’
TARA SEDAR, BRAD DARLING, Ashley Anness and Jordan Moreau (from left) brainstorm ideas about suicide awareness and prevention. The four youth are behind the Comox Valley Suicide Awareness Facebook group. PHOTO BY LINDSAY CHUNG them resources and places to go when they are ready. “The great part of our group is we have a mixed variety of people — students, parents, school board, teachers, counsellors, pastors,” noted Sedar. Within 24 hours, the Facebook group had 800 members, and it’s been growing ever since, with many people expressing their desire to help. As of Thursday afternoon, the group had 1,226 members. “From how many people I’ve seen join and a lot of the things I’ve seen them say on there, this is something they’ve been waiting for,” said Anness. “The support is incredible,” added Sedar. Anness hopes the biggest mes-
sage they can get out is that people aren’t alone. “So many people, when they get depressed like that and are in a suicidal stage, they feel alone and they feel no one cares about them,” she said. “They need to be told other people have felt that way, other people have been there, and people do feel that way sometimes ... Obviously, people do care about them or otherwise, we wouldn’t have started this.” “If you just reach out, there’s hope anywhere you go, a teacher, parent, pastor or friends,” added Sedar. They also hope the group gets people talking about suicide, which usually isn’t reported in the media, noted Darling. The group is “giving taboos the
boot,” he pointed out. “It’s opening up people’s eyes,” he said. Sedar thinks one reason youth contemplate suicide is they don’t know how to handle all the pressure they are under. “Teens go through a lot of pressure,” she said. “They’ve got family, work and school; sometimes when you add things like bullying, it’s too stressful. Teens are not very good with coping with their emotions.” Darling agrees. He is very stressed about graduating and worries about getting all the courses you need, applying for university and not having a job. “It’s not fun at all,” he said. “But there is a lot of help at school
Derby women from all over Vancouver Island and Powell River descended on Cumberland Oct. 16 for the first Brick House Betties open scrimmage. Team members from Victoria’s Belles of the Brawl, West Coast Style, Margarita Villians, Nanaimo’s Harbour City Rollers and Nanaimo Nemesis, Comox Valley’s Rink Minx, Powell River’s Pow Town and Cumberland’s Brick House Betties were all represented.
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