2007
Dec 28, 2007 - "St. Petersburg Times", St. Petersburg, FL
Staffer says VA didn't listen
Brian Nussbaum said he went first to his bosses. Then he went to the state. He even went to a private group that accredits hospitals. At each turn, he got little response. Finally, Nussbaum said he realized no one would listen unless he stepped forward publicly to warn about unsupervised and unlicensed psychologists at the nation's busiest veterans hospital.

Dec 09, 2007 - "Miami Herald", Miami, FL
New group offers teens a means to cope
After coping with her own family trauma, a Weston woman has formed a group to help teens deal with pressure. A peer support group aims to help teens develop coping skills to deal with everyday pressures, from bullying to the grueling FCAT exam to substance abuse. Known as Solutions Unlimited Now, or SUN, the 10-step program offers teens, in groups of 10 or fewer, a constructive way to learn social skills and problem-solving. The 10-week program meets after school and is open to middle and high school students.

Dec 03, 2007 - "Tallahassee Democrat", Tallahassee, FL
Officials concerned about suicide among the college set
“People don’t expect people in college to kill themselves,” said James Hennessey, a psychologist at the Florida State University’s counseling center. However, the statistics are alarming. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, even though they commit suicide at a lower rate than non-college peers

Nov 30, 2007 - "The Florida Times-Union", Jacksonville, FL
More hopeful signs
Jacksonville's recent emphasis on suicide prevention is drawing help from the governor's office. The governor's new statewide Office of Suicide Prevention is targeting Jacksonville for two programs, said Director Erin MacInnes. The first involves a grant application for $1.5 million in suicide prevention funding.

Nov 23, 2007 - "Red Bluff Daily News", Red Bluff, FL
Red Bluff family seeks support against Web suicide
Among sexual predators and scam artists on the World Wide Web exists a "pro-choice" suicide group whose members teach people thinking about ending their lives how to tie an unforgiving knot, choose a durable rope and proofread suicide notes. "It's like they're electronically pulling the trigger," Mike Gonzales said. The group taught Gonzales' daughter Suzy how to write time-delayed e-mails saying goodbye and gave her directions how to illegally pose as a jeweler to buy the potassium cyanide the Red Bluff woman used to end her life on the early morning of March 23, 2003. "She was one day short of 19 and a half," her dad said.

Nov 12, 2007 - "St. Petersburg Times", St. Petersburg, FL
Greatest tools in prevention: eyes and ears
The topic of suicide doesn't hit the news except when the deaths are public or the victims well-known. That's happened more than usual here in recent weeks, with the suicides of a Brandon businessman, a prominent Tampa hostel owner and a Cuban exile artist living in Ybor City. Tampa recently hosted the state-sponsored Florida Suicide Prevention Symposium, ......

Nov 10, 2007 - "The News-Press", Fort Myers, FL
Suicide awareness should be addressed
Do you ever think about taking your life? It’s not a pleasant thought. Yet, it is a consideration that crosses the minds of 15 percent of the U.S. population every year, according to the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition. Research shows mental and substance-abuse disorders push a person toward self-extinction. Suicide.

Oct 14, 2007 - "Sun Sentinel", Fort Lauderdale, FL
Warning signs of depression, suicide
Warning signs of depression and suicide. Behavioral changes, including taking unnecessary risks and acting out. Changes in eating habits resulting in loss or gain of weight. Changes in sleep habits, with too much or none at all. Trouble concentrating; being indecisive.

Oct 01, 2007 - "Palm Beach Post", Palm Beach, FL
Suicide prevention campaign launches
A one-woman suicide prevention whirlwind will start rolling through Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast these next few weeks. Kathy Healy, business development director at SandyPines children's psychiatric hospital, plans to send letters to every principal and guidance counselor in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties to let them know about The Jason Foundation office opening at the Tequesta facility.

Sept 18, 2007 - "ABC News", Elderly Most At-Risk in Suicide

Not long after 72-year-old Anne Beale Golsan had retired on disability from her job as a librarian, she put a stack of paid bills out for the mail, hung up a freshly pressed outfit and taped a note to the front of the house. "Don't come in by yourself. Get somebody to come with you. Sorry, Love Beale."

Sept 16, 2007 - "Bradenton Herald", Bradenton, FL
Walk to remember
They call it the "Walk for Life." With the goal of suicide prevention, about 400 marchers gathered Saturday morning to walk from Palmetto, over the Manatee River into downtown Bradenton and back again in memory of loved ones who have taken their own lives.

Sept 13, 2007 - "Web MD",
Did FDA Teen Suicide Warning Backfire?
Warnings that antidepressants may increase teen suicides appear to have backfired, a new study suggests. The study shows that a steep drop in antidepressant prescriptions for children and teens followed the FDA and European drug authority warnings. At the same time, there was an unprecedented spike in child and teen suicides.

Sept 12, 2007 - "Florida Weekly", Fort Meyers, FL
Suicides by youth on rise
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging closer study of suicide trends among young adults and teens after it ranked nationwide as the third leading cause of death for those between ages 10 and 24. A study found rates jumped 8 percent from 2003 to 2004 after previously declining more than 28 percent.

Sept 11, 2007 - "South Florida Sun-Sentinel", Palm Beach, FL
School programs help lower teen suicide stats
Here we are, all giddy at the thought of a woman as Democratic front-runner for the presidency, and the Centers for Disease Control kills the buzz with a sobering report about girls and suicide. After a 28 percent decline from 1990 to 2003, youth suicide unexpectedly jumped eight percent in 2004, the most recent year the CDC analyzed.And the big reason for the rise was that suicide among girls went up a staggering 76 percent that year.

Sept 11, 2007 - "Tampa Bay News", Seminole, FL
County marks suicide prevention week
The Board of County Commissioners proclaimed Sept. 9-15 as Yellow Ribbon Suicide Awareness and Prevention Week at its regular meeting on Sept. 4. Board Chairman Ronnie Duncan described suicide as the “most disruptive and most tragic” event.

Aug 31, 2007 - "The Florida Times-Union ", Jacksonville, FL
Attention needed - Part 1 of 3
Finally, there is some attention being given to the needless lives being lost to suicide in Jacksonville. No, not murder. That issue has finally reached local consciousness after years of neglect. Yet, there often are more suicides in a typical year. On a statewide level, there are twice as many suicides as murders. Yet, no similar community attention has emerged.

Aug 31, 2007 - "The Florida Times-Union ", Jacksonville, FL
Suicide prevention requires leaders to rally community - Part 2 of 3
Q. If suicide were treated like murder in Jacksonville, what would the response be?
A. It would be similar to the way the community comes together to solve problems. We have a sense of being a big, small town and we have a history of success when we have come together and we have talked about issues, we have made it work. Remember the Super Bowl? If we decided to make that commitment, we could end suicide in Northeast Florida.

Sept 04, 2007 - "The Florida Times-Union ", Jacksonville, FL
Mysteries of suicide lead to myth, taboo and stigma Part 3 of 3
Q. What's the cause of society's taboo regarding suicide?
A. It has several sources. One is that people are afraid of death. So death has a taboo, but of all the various forms of death, you definitely rank suicide No. 1 in terms of stigma and taboo. It is strongly linked to mental disorders, which, of all the medical conditions, are still by far the most misunderstood and stigmatized by people.

June 26, 2007 - "Daytona Beach News Journal", Daytona Beach, FL
Suicide deaths up despite strong push for local, state prevention
It's the kind of statistic no community wants to hear. Volusia County posted its highest-ever death toll from suicide in 2006: 108 people took their own lives. The number of self-inflicted deaths in Flagler County doubled from 6 to 12 in one year.

June 21, 2007 - "News-Journal Corporation", Daytona Beach, FL
Hot line operators stem tide of suicides
After trying to sneak in a couple of bites of cereal, Wolf Sanchez puts down the spoon and tells the caller, "You need to breathe slowly. Exhale in and out." "Where are you right now? I need you to focus. One more breath. In through your nose, out slowly through your mouth," he says. "You have choices. You do not have to rush. We have all the time in the world to talk." Listening to the caller, he then says, "Don't be sorry. I understand."

May 10, 2007 - "Tampa Tribune", Tampa Bay, FL
COMMENTARY - Preventing Suicide
At the University of South Florida's Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, we are very concerned about the serious problem of suicide. In 2004, death by suicide was the ninth leading cause of death for all ages in Florida. Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Florida had the third highest number of deaths by suicide per state with 2,389 in 2004. That's equivalent to losing nearly four Boeing 737s filled with people every three months for a year.

May 07, 2007 - "Tampa Tribune", Tampa Bay, FL
There Are Other Ways To Prevent Suicide
Columnist Dan Ruth ("The NRA of Cults Strikes Again, April 28) obtained an e-mail I wrote in which I discouraged a suicide "prevention" initiative - Senate Bill 224. The reason is simple. The pharmaceutical industry salivates over suicide "prevention" programs, such as the very controversial and unscientific TeenScreen program, whose advisory board has major pharmaceutical ties. (Google TeenScreen, folks!) TeenScreen admits a percentage of kids screened will wind up on psychiatric drugs that can increase suicide risk.

May 07 , 2007 - "News-Journal", Daytona Beach, FL
Senate OK's bill creating suicide prevention office
No one filed any amendments. There was no debate. It only took a few seconds for Sen. Evelyn Lynn to introduce Senate Bill 224 to her fellow lawmakers and a blink for them to approve it, 38-0. Brett Bousquet's name wasn't mentioned. But, for Judy Bousquet of Gainesville, the bill was all about her son, a police officer who died at age 27 by suicide.

May 01, 2007 - "WESH TV - CH2", Orlando, FL
Suicide Tape Meant To Educate Students
Some Central Florida School Districts are letting a tape do the talking about suicide for them. A tape educating students on the signs of suicide could be coming to every middle and high school classroom in Florida. Counselors say this tape can save a kid's life, but some critics say it shouldn't be shown in our schools.

April 23 , 2007 - "Tampa Tribune", Tampa Bay, FL
The Warning Signs
The new government figures recently released - showing a surprising increase in youth suicides after a decade of decline - stresses the importance of stronger support for our youth of all ages. We all must reach out - friends, neighbors, relatives, school personnel, law enforcement, coaches, clergy and doctors. Suicide is a community issue, and it's very important that we all work together to recognize young people at risk of depression.

April 15 , 2007 - "The Florida Times-Union ", Jacksonville, FL
What to report about suicides
Decisions about news coverage of suicides can be among the most vexing and frustrating for editors. Much of the difficulty stems from the challenge to be consistent with how such stories are handled.

April 14 , 2007 - "St. Petersburg Times", St. Petersburg, FL
Can the state stop a suicide?
Legislators are considering whether to wade into a very personal struggle. The last call. The last note. What was he thinking when he pulled that trigger, when she let the car run inside the garage? Florida has the 15th highest suicide rate in the country. And though suicides rarely make the news, their prevalence has led state lawmakers to push the creation of an Office of Suicide Prevention.

April 12 , 2007 - "The Gainesville Sun", Gainesville, FL
Suicide prevention bill gets tangled up in the Senate
Here we go again. For four years, we have been trying to get our state government to pass a suicide prevention bill. We need legislation to establish a statewide suicide prevention office and a Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council (formerly known as the Florida Suicide Prevention Task Force). It's needed in order to provide central coordination and sustainability to the suicide prevention initiative.

April 12 , 2007 - "Orlando Sentinel ", Orlando, FL
DBCC has conference on suicide
Daytona Beach Community College will be host for a free one-day conference on suicide from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday on its Daytona Beach campus. The Campus Suicide Prevention-Mental Health Issues Awareness Conference will feature talks by mental-health professionals, including Steve Roggenbaum of the University of South Florida; Pam Harrington of the Florida Task Force on Suicide Prevention; and Dr. Joanna Locke of the Jed Foundation.

April 11 , 2007 - "St. Petersburg Times", St. Petersburg, FL
If only he had foreseen a clear day
Of course it rained the day of his memorial service, great sheets of it falling over the yellow-brick church. He should have been on TV that morning before we left for work, same as always, the amiable Channel 8 weather guy with his perfect weatherman name and his I-know-something grin.

April 7, 2007 - "St. Petersburg Times", St. Petersburg, FL
Forecaster's suicide stuns co-workers, fans
Co-workers and fans across the Tampa Bay area knew John Winter as the gregarious, hard-working backbone of WFLA-Ch. 8's morning news crew, always ready with a practical joke and zingers in his "morons in the news" segments.

March 29, 2007 - "The Florida Times-Union ", Jacksonville, FL
SUICIDE: Emphasize prevention
Money talks, they say. Unfortunately, Gov. Charlie Crist's new budget was talking gibberish, at least for a moment. Crist promised to fulfill the legacy of Gov. Jeb Bush. One of Bush's important projects was to establish a suicide prevention office in the Office of Drug Control. That proposal kept getting shot down in the Florida Legislature, despite support from Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, among others. Then, the St. Petersburg Times reported that the governor's budget did not even include the $150,000 for suicide prevention.

March 29, 2007 - "The Florida Times-Union ", Jacksonville, FL
Crist rethinks suicide program, says he'll keep it
TALLAHASSEE - As lawmakers start finalizing a new, $71 billion state budget, a $150,000 suicide prevention program is hanging in the balance that Duval County suicide advocates consider key to helping the county lower its high number of suicides. Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday he will reverse his decision last week to eliminate the proposed program within the state Office of Drug Control, which would fund two full-time employees dedicated to spreading counseling, education and early intervention services statewide.