Letter: Suicide prevention effort worthwhile

Great article on suicide prevention.

Some things I learned years ago while training to help prevent suicide. Males complete suicide more often than females. They are generally more determined, so while the gun lock thing is a good idea, even just for safe storage, denying a guy a gun won’t stop him if he really wants to do it. Women use guns far less often; they usually don’t like messy methods. They attempt more but complete suicide less.

Anything to help is good, don’t get me wrong. Suicide prevention training is a very effective tool as well. There are groups that teach it. It helps you to see where they are coming from, to be aware of things people do or say to set off the alarm in your head, and how to talk to them and hopefully commit to you to get professional help. Posting the suicide prevention hotline nationally helps a lot. Also posting info on local groups or hotlines is another aid as well.

Kudos to these young people, and of course Ranch and Home for doing this thing.