Sisters School District begins suicide discussion
The Sisters School District hosted a community meeting about suicide Monday evening. One speaker was Jason Winebarger, whose son, Jacob, took his own life two years ago.
The school district hosted the meeting to start conversation about the nature of suicide.
Winebarger said communication is important, and suicide is not something to whisper about. He said his family had no idea Jacob was suicidal and he doesn’t want any family to go through what he and his family did.
“There was no communication about suicide, mental health, depression, what thoughts kids might have, because you live your life and you feel like you’ve done your job as parent. Why would I need to talk to my child about this?” Winebarger said.
“It turns out it escapes no socioeconomic background, and no matter how great of a parent or home environment you think you’ve created, it doesn’t mean your children won’t have difficulty with their thoughts and depression.”
He also said suicide is not a choice, because a rational person would not see death as an option. He thinks someone is looking to escape from pain and might feel like there is no other alternative.
“You spend many, many hours looking at why (…) Should have I made him go to bed earlier? Should have I not made him brush his teeth twice a day? Winebarger said. “You start questioning your parenting skills and what you did that may or may not have made them happy or not happy. But you have to understand that some of that is intrinsic, and having open conversations with your children about how they’re feeling, not how the movie was last night, is important.”
Sisters Middle School counselor Brook Jackson said Oregon ranks anywhere from 10th to 15th in the nation for suicide rates.
According to a survey of Sisters High students, 46 percent in the 9th and 10th grades and 47 percent in 11th and 12th grades have thought about suicide.
Some of the things the district discussed included what signs to look for, like abrupt changes in behavior, isolation, and despairing attitudes.
“It’s obviously a pretty big issue and if you’re not at least moderately concerned, you’re just not paying attention,” Jackson said. “When we start having conversations with the community and we get this topic out in the open, people have greater access to resources.”
NewsChannel 21 has a page dedicated to suicide prevention, Let’s Talk, under the Community tab.
The student based health center number is 541-526-6623.
The suicide hotline number is 1-800-273-8255.
