Coalition remembers 26 lives of residents lost to suicide
Twenty-six pairs of shoes were placed around the fountain at Diamond Park in Butler on Wednesday to remember the 26 county residents who took their own lives last year.
The shoes were at the center of the Butler County Suicide Coalition's annual suicide remembrance rally, which was held during National Suicide Prevention Week and Suicide Awareness Month.
Jim Smith, program director for the Center for Community Resources, told those in attendance that the shoes belonged to 21 men and five women between the ages of 17 to 75.“Lives lost out of a sense of despair and hopelessness,” Smith said.One person can make a life-saving difference by reaching out to a person who appears to be struggling or has mental health issues and asking them how they are doing, he said.People are often surprised after learning someone they know committed suicide, but the person who died was waiting and hoping for someone to reach out to them, Smith said.Amy Cirelli, a coalition member and mental health specialist with the Butler County Human Services Department, said suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the country, accounting for 120,000 deaths a year.
The 26 suicides in the county in 2019 exceeded the 21 reported in 2018.“Hopefully, with awareness, people will be more confident to reach out to someone,” Cirelli said.The coalition holds virtual meetings the first Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. Cirelli said anyone interested in the meetings should call her office at 724-284-5114 and she will provide them with a link to the online meetings.CCR operates a 24-hour crisis intervention service that can be reached at 800-292-3866 or by text at 63288.
