Armed to Know speakers share stories in effort to save students, parents from ‘ripple effect of suicide’

Teens attending the Armed to Know suicide prevention program with moderator Ron Merrell, a pastor at The Heights Church in Prescott. (Nanci Hutson/Courier)

Teens attending the Armed to Know suicide prevention program with moderator Ron Merrell, a pastor at The Heights Church in Prescott. (Nanci Hutson/Courier)

In September 2000, a 19-year-old San Francisco college student leaped off the Golden Gate Bridge, suffering a crushed vertebrae but emerging as one of the few to survive such a suicide attempt.

Four years later, the 24-year-old stepson of a Show Low, Arizona, mother of five — struggling with substance abuse and news of his girlfriend’s pregnancy —ended his life; eight years later her youngest son, 18, wrestling with severe depression and loneliness ,died of suicide as a balm for his despair.

On Tuesday night, the year-old Armed to Know organization invited these two strangers from very different backgrounds and roles in life to step onto the stage in Prescott High School’s Ruth Street Theater before a packed auditorium of parents and students. Their goal: to spare them from the “ripple effect of suicide.”

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Teresa MacDonald of Show Low, Arizona. Mother of five lost two sons, stepson, Cliff, 24, and youngest son, Brody, 18, to suicide. She was one of the two keynote speakers for the Armed to Know event, “Suicide: The Ripple Effect” on Tuesday, April 23 at Prescott High School’s Ruth Street Theater. She is pictured in the front row with friend, Tyla Francis. Left to right, Francis and MacDonald. (Nanci Hutson/Courier)

A MOTHER’S LOVE

Teresa MacDonald is not a professional speaker. She is a bereaved mother eager to protect other families from suffering a similar life-altering grief.

Her testimony at the two-hour suicide prevention program Tuesday night was her first public appearance for a community-wide suicide prevention mission.

Armed to Know is a nonprofit devoted to inspiring parents and teens “to take the long way home” for candid conversation on tough topics, be it the deadly consequences of fentanyl and addiction; self-image and social media influences, pornography or suicide. The free-to-the-public events funded solely through donations are offered by local and national experts, and people of influence able to impart a needed message to teens and their parents.

HOTLINE

To reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, dial 800-273-TALK (8255)

Beyond the two keynote speakers, the program offered break-out sessions for teens and parents, including a video message from a teen who contemplated suicide and a countywide school counselor.

The loss of MacDonald’s sons to suicide was what she called the “beginning of a nightmare.”

She admitted she tried to spare her youngest the pain of her stepson’s suicide. She says she now wonders whether he would have rethought his actions if he knew the family’s ongoing heartache.

“It breaks my heart that I couldn’t help him through it, and he couldn’t see a future,” MacDonald said of her youngest son who she discovered after his death had tried to reach out but did not find the comfort he needed at the time he was most vulnerable.

As for advice to other parents, MacDonald was candid. No family is immune. All need to heed their children’s words and moods, and make time for one-on-one conversation.

“Make them see that life is worth living,” MacDonald said, noting she still wishes she was more aggressive in seeking professional help when her son admitted to feeling “worthless.” “They’re counting on us.

She advised parents to go with their gut.

“If you think something is wrong, it probably is,” said MacDonald whose heart-felt candor inspired a standing ovation. “I miss my sons every day and I will till I take my last breath.”

A SURVIVOR’S TALE

Wearing a bright red T-shirt with the logo, “It’s OK to Talk,” national mental health advocate and professional speaker, author and filmmaker Kevin Hines relied on his miracle story of surviving a dive off the Golden Gate Bridge to push for better options for those suffering with mental anguish or illness.

The day his life was forever changed, Hines said he was wrestling with bi-polar delusions. He said he so wanted someone to simply ask him if he was OK; someone to show him some compassion, kindness, attention.

On his 25-story, 75 mph plunge, Hines said he realized he had made a mistake. He didn’t want to die.

Almost two decades later, Hines still has his bad days. His mental health diagnosis did not go away. He still suffers with his mental health, but he is adamant suicide is never an option.

“My thoughts do not have to become my actions,” Hines declared.

Today, Hines fights to demystify mental illness, or brain disease. He encourages families, friends, schools and communities to rally together to become super heroes against suicide. Hines’ is one of the prime forces pushing for suicide barriers at the Golden Gate Bridge.

“We’re all here to give back,” Hines said. “We’re all in this together, this thing we call life.”

REACTION

Bradshaw Mountain High School senior Jordyn Bassford said both speakers honesty was “awesome.”

For certain, she said, Yavapai County must remain vigilant as it continues to have the highest suicide rates in the state.

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Kevin Hines with the Armed to Know team: Left to right: MacKenzie VanWormer, Laura Solorzano, Katy Kimball, Raynee Schneider, Denise Carpenter, Brandi Jex, Chelsea Schneider, Josias Solorzano, Austin Turner, Steve Adame. (Armed to Know member/photographer Chelsea Schneider)

Between Jan. 1, 2017 and May 1, 2018, the state Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed 99 suicide deaths in Yavapai County. The 2017 Yavapai County Community Health Services annual report showed that the county’s suicide rate is 32.8 per 100,000 population. Statewide, that rate is 17.8 and nationally it is 10.2, according to 2016 statistics.

Yavapai County Education Service Agency counselor Beth Dunn encouraged parents to stay abreast of their teens’ social media, with an emphasis on safety over privacy. She also advised parents to be present with their teens, and listen without judgment. A cry for help can only be heard when one listens, she said.

ENCOURAGING WORDS

Hines closed the evening with a powerful mantra, one he demanded the audience shout out at the top of their lungs.

“Be Here Tomorrow.”

Follow Nanci Hutson on Twitter @HutsonNanci. Reach her at 928-445-3333 ext. 2041.


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