Rock County suicides nearly double
Photo 
Jenifer L. Keach
FOR HELP
The suicide hotline is 1-800-SUICIDE, and the Rock County Crisis Line is (608) 757-5025.
JANESVILLE — Unemployment and money problems are among the reasons suicides have nearly doubled in Rock County in two years, the Rock County coroner said Wednesday.
Twenty-eight Rock County residents committed suicide in 2010, compared to 23 in 2009 and 15 in 2008, when the unemployment rate first began to rise, Coroner Jenifer Keach said.
The suicide rate is showing no signs of slowing, with eight suicides already this year, putting the county on pace for 32 in 2011, she said. Many of the suicides were men in their prime wage-earning years.
“We were seeing a lot of them who had just lost their jobs or were unemployed and couldn’t find work,” she said. “For a lot of people, right now, financial pressure is just huge.”
The coroner’s office interviews spouses, parents or adult children during death investigations such as suicides. Many family members said money problems were partially to blame for suicides, Keach said.
“They tell me there was a feeling of hopelessness, of giving up, after a job was lost,” she said.
Economic problems weren’t the only reasons people might have committed suicide, Keach said. Marital conflict, depression and drugs or alcohol were contributing factors in some cases.
Unemployment often puts stress on families and marriages, Keach said. Debt can accrue, and foreclosures are issues.
Often, money problems can deepen depression or aggravate other forms of mental illness, she said. Some people are afraid to get help.
“Mental illness still has a little bit of a stigma to it, unfortunately,” Keach said.
The coroner’s office hopes to curb the problem with a new “safety series” on suicide prevention and awareness.
Volunteer Deputy Coroner Tony Farrell Sr. will give presentations to schools, civic groups and others to help prevent suicides. The presentation is intended to help people recognize the signs leading up to suicide so they can help others.
Farrell began giving weekly presentations in January.
“When our office is called, it’s too late. They’ve ended their life, but maybe through these particular presentations we’ve had, maybe people will talk to others,” Farrell said.
During the presentation, people learn about common risk factors and warning signs. People are given suggestions for helping others at risk.
Farrell said he has talked after his presentations to three people thinking about suicide.
“I do know that I’ve three saves, and I feel good about that, although I don’t know if they were going to complete the act,” he said.
Keach and Farrell want to reduce the number of suicides, and they hope the new program helps. They said people need resources.
“I’m very concerned that it’s going to stay on pace or get worse,” Keach said. “Lets face it, with government budgets the way they are, the money is not going to be there to start new programs. We really have to rely on community based programs.”
Mar 25, 2011 at 5:44 p.m.
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jodymac, you are clueless.
Suicidal thoughts probably grip each and every one of us, at one time or another. It is what someone is capable of understanding, that makes that decision viable or not.
If you EVER hear someone that actually expresses that the world would be better off without me, or that life is too hard or that they just don't want to wake up again, make a call. You may save that person's life!
If YOU have a feeling that the world is crushing down on you and that you just don't care if you live or die, seek help! Trust me, it WILL get better, with some guidance!
From one who has "been there, done that", trust me... you are loved and just need some assistance.
Mar 25, 2011 at 4:15 p.m.
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notice i said some times !!!!!
Mar 25, 2011 at 4:14 p.m.
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i have personally found myself looking down the barrel of a 12 gauge in the recent past. i found myself some help.
today's troubles in life are tough. money, family, relationships etc. are all tough. i will tell you all this. if you think that some one is on the edge, help them or talk to them..... sometimes we just need some one to talk to that will listen. you don't have to understand, just listen !!!!! SOME TIMES it is that simple.
Mar 25, 2011 at 3:05 p.m.
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THERE WILL BE MORE.
Mar 25, 2011 at 2:11 p.m.
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You are so right 12345678, you want to snap out of it but you can't. Unless you have been there you will never know....
Mar 25, 2011 at 12:06 p.m.
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truth1...You in my opinion have no understanding of depression....if it was just that easy to snap out of it...I would still have my love one.Compassion for others go a long way...try it sometime.If you NEVER had it happen to you/yours,you will never understand the gripe it gets and will turn you every way but loose.
Mar 25, 2011 at 11:45 a.m.
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A lot of people do not have a solid, premeditated "intention" to commit suicide...a lot of it is done on a whim....getting out and DOING something can remove the desire to because it gives a person a sense of purpose.
I fully stand by my previous post.
Mar 25, 2011 at 9:23 a.m.
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truth1 = people who really intend to end their lives do not have the capacity to think in the terms that you've outlined in your post. Hoplessness to a suicidal person is a complete trap with no way out.
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The people who may respond to your more simplistic views are those seeking help and don't know where to turn. It truly is two types - Suicidal and those with suicidal tendencies. Those numbers are harder to track but they are incredibly high, especially in teens.
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Either way, the family that is left behind are the people I feel most sympathetic to. The families and friends need to first understand that "it" wasn't about them and they probably would NOT have been able to prevent it. I spent 27 years making my father's suicide about me only to learn that "it" had nothing to do with me.
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Suicide is such a sensitive topic that I would hope to see comments made in this thread treated with sensitivity but also be honest about what you do and don't understand so "it" can be better understood by all.
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My father felt hopeless; he was also sick/toxic due to being heavily intoxicated (notice how toxic is central to intoxicated?) when making his pivitol choice to live or die. I have forgiven him and love the man he was (just not on 'that' day). When you ask me how my father died and I respond "he took his own life", it's okay for you to not panic - it's not taboo and you didn't do anything wrong by asking. Experience doesn't make me an expert, I know, but I've chosen to speak about it to those who will listen to bring understanding and compassion to the topic.
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Make it a great day everyone!
Mar 25, 2011 at 8:27 a.m.
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....Or, travel somewhere else to do these activities if you have to....Killing yourself ends all the possibilities..DON'T do it.
Mar 25, 2011 at 8:25 a.m.
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...oh, yes ......and search the internet for likeminded people.
Mar 25, 2011 at 8:23 a.m.
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I don't mean to be simplistic, but you only get one life here on earth and its not for that long anyway.....If unemployment and/or the gov't is bothering you, you CAN do something.. Do ANYTHING other than harm yourself...Join/start an organization, print and distribute pamphlets about things that you see as wrong..These things cost VERY little now days..By doing these things, you WILL accomplish something even though it may not seem like it to you.
Mar 25, 2011 at 7:56 a.m.
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I think the headline could have read "Area Suicides Linked to Government Oppression." I know a number of people who are on the edge. The common denominator in feelings of hopelessness seem to come from a belief that "the Government is after me and I can never win."
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People can cope with a reversal of fortune, but unemployment and business failures are usually accompanied by harassement from the IRS, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, and local Government agencies, as well as collection actions pursued through the court system.
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I wish someone could study the suicide notes in detail along with comments received by the Crisis Intervention Hotline. I'll bet money there is a strong correlation between the suicides and harassement by our Government agencies.
Mar 24, 2011 at 7:19 p.m.
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There is absolutely NO other emotion that hits us harder than loss. The loss of trust, the loss of your livelihood, the loss of your home, and finally, the loss of a beloved family member.
All of us, at some point in our lives will experience something so crushing, that we will buckle at the knees. If you are internally suffering and pulling away from life, you NEED help! If you just won't talk to family or friends:
Name: Rock County of, Human Services, Crisis Intervention (24 Hours)
Street:
Janesville, wi 53545-
Phone: (608) 757-5025
Mar 24, 2011 at 7:10 p.m.
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Amen Foxyroush
Mar 24, 2011 at 6:26 p.m.
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“They tell me there was a feeling of hopelessness, of giving up, after a job was lost,”
I can very much relate to THAT feeling. After awhile you start to feel desperate, after applying for job after job and NOBODY calls you. When unemployment is either running out soon, or has for a lot of folks already, there is no hope with the economy the way it is, and the state's deficit repair bill threatening to take away a lot of help people are able to get to survive.
There's only ONE answer....GOD...nothing else will work. He will never leave us nor forsake us, and HE will always find a way to provide for us.. He has for my family, or we'd be goners already.
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