RE: You're not allowed to end it all. Ever.
June 29, 2014 at 2:10 pm
(This post was last modified: June 29, 2014 at 2:11 pm by Jackalope.)
@Syn -
My office is across the street from a 13 story parking garage that happens to be a popular location for suicide, particularly amongst homeless youth. I've personally witnessed two suicides in the last two years, and there have been many more.
I also have known several people who ended their own lives. I think I get where you're coming from.
Problem is, if someone's determined to end their life, and we make it inconvenient to jump from one place, they'll choose another. I'd rather not see another broken teenager's body on the sidewalk - but it's no better if they go a block down the street to another building.
My issue with this is that our society does not sufficiently fund mental health treatment and outreach. If our elected leaders are going to fund preventative measures and then give themselves a pat on the back for "doing something", and then NOT address the underlying problem, then we've done a real disservice to people who need help - and taken a substantial amount of money away that could have been used to fund treatment and outreach that would be more effective. It's not exactly a zero-sum game, but there are limits to funds available for public spending.
My office is across the street from a 13 story parking garage that happens to be a popular location for suicide, particularly amongst homeless youth. I've personally witnessed two suicides in the last two years, and there have been many more.
I also have known several people who ended their own lives. I think I get where you're coming from.
Problem is, if someone's determined to end their life, and we make it inconvenient to jump from one place, they'll choose another. I'd rather not see another broken teenager's body on the sidewalk - but it's no better if they go a block down the street to another building.
My issue with this is that our society does not sufficiently fund mental health treatment and outreach. If our elected leaders are going to fund preventative measures and then give themselves a pat on the back for "doing something", and then NOT address the underlying problem, then we've done a real disservice to people who need help - and taken a substantial amount of money away that could have been used to fund treatment and outreach that would be more effective. It's not exactly a zero-sum game, but there are limits to funds available for public spending.
