Last week, I was at the gas station and saw an employee with an unusual tattoo. I was curious about the significance and, when I asked him, he gave me a brief response before saying he really didn’t have time to talk about it. After a somewhat awkward pause, I asked a question that surprised even me.
“Have you ever had thoughts of suicide?”
I don’t know why I asked him that particular question, but he looked me straight in the eye and told me that he had thought about it a couple times. Knowing we probably didn’t have much time before more customers came in, I quickly invited him to view the documentary film “Suicide: The Ripple Effect.”
The film is about Kevin Hines, a man who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge and miraculously lived to tell about it. My new friend was intrigued, but he had to work on Monday evening so he wasn’t able to view the film. I told him I would bring in more information the next time I filled up my tank.
Something I’ve been pondering since then is that every living breathing person is positioned to be a first responder. Each person on the planet will likely come into contact with someone who is thinking about ending their life, and each of us has the ability to convey that life has value and meaning and purpose.
Instilling hope is a powerful action plan.
I attended the screening of “Suicide: The Ripple Effect” at SIUE. Five people were with me, three of whom had lost immediate family members to suicide. When I asked their impressions, one was amazed and another was overwhelmed. Nearly all of us were in tears at some point during the film.
I’m grateful to Centerstone for bringing this screening to our community and I was especially moved by people who drove all the way from Greenville and as far away as Centralia to see this film. I was also heartbroken as I listened to a mom who just lost her high school daughter to suicide.
As I embraced this stranger with an immediate intimacy, I thought, “What if this screening had occurred just a few months earlier? Would it have made a difference? Would it have saved her life?”
These are the kinds of questions that haunt those of us who have lost loved ones to suicide.
I believe the answers lie with where the conversations are taking place. One observation from the screening is that people in attendance were predominantly part of an established mental health community. Most of us were there because our personal or professional lives have already been impacted by suicide.
From pain comes strength.
This pivotal dialog must extend beyond the inner circle of impact. This is a pro-life discussion that needs to take place in our churches. Suicide prevention training should be a standardized component of all new employee orientations. This safety chat needs to occur in our schools so our children will live.
Gift of Voice is trying to bring “The Ripple Effect” back to Edwardsville on May 1. For this screening to occur, we need 62 people to purchase tickets by April 22 so my friend from the gas station can see this film. Even if you don’t know who, you also have friends who need to see this film.
Invite a friend to the movies and save a life.
Tickets can be reserved here.
#BeHereTomorrow