CAMANCHE —
Support continues to grow for those in need as suicide prevention efforts continue in the tight-knit Camanche community.
Local support group Speak Out Against Suicide will be reaching out to parents and families throughout the area with a special event, “Breaking the Silence,” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. March 26 at Camanche High School.
This event will offer parents and families crucial information through the Yellow Ribbon Program that was previously presented to Camanche High School students last fall. Representatives from Bridgeview Community Health Services and Social Services will also be on hand to inform families about the resources available.
“This is an urgent message to get out to all the communities,” Organizer Nikki Carber said. “It’s something we need to start talking about it and realizing it’s a reality.”
The Yellow Ribbon program was founded in 1994 by the parents and friends of a teen in Colorado, Mike Emme, who took his life. This program is dedicated to preventing suicide and attempts by making suicide prevention accessible to everyone and removing barriers to help by empowering individuals and communities through leadership, awareness and education; and by collaborating and partnering with support networks to reduce stigma and help save lives, according to the organization’s website.
Not many parents have such a deep understanding of the tragedy of suicide as do Brad and Dawn Knutson, founders of the Eastern Iowa Chapter and presenters for the Camanche event.
About 13 years ago, the couple experienced the event first hand, when their son, Jeff, took his own life at the age of 16. The two felt compelled to help others and started the local Yellow Ribbon chapter in 2000.
Since then, they have given at least 500 presentations, going wherever they are needed, from Des Moines to Chicago.
The city has addressed suicide in the community with the help of the Speak Out and Bridgeview’s TeenScreen program. Residents have taken the pledge against suicide and found support for their grief through Speak Out and more than 90 Camanche Middle School seventh- and eighth-graders received permission from their parents to undergo the screening program to identify risk factors for the problem.
After the national TeenScreen Program was shut down, Bridgeview specialists worked to develop a new and similar screening program to address the issue. The new program, Bridgeview Health Survey, was implemented in mid-January.
Despite the closure of the original program, the new screening allows more of a customizable approach. United Way will continue to fund the program through the end of the school year and plans are in the works for the MJL Foundation to fund the new screening for the following school year. So far, 31 students have been screened through Bridgeview Health Survey.
“I like the thoroughness of the new tool, it addresses behaviors that weren’t in TeenScreen, like bullying, eating disorders and self-harm,” Jocelyn Meyer with Bridgeview said. “It opens up the opportunity to discuss these issues further.”
Meyer also has been working with several local pastors to organize a suicide prevention night at Ashford University Field this summer.
Speak Out hosts a support group called, “Let the Healing Begin,” that meets every third Sunday at 2 p.m. at Garner Hall in Camanche. The group is open to any and all people dealing with suicide or depression-related problems.
Camanche
March 14, 2013
‘Breaking the Silence’ aims to prevent suicide
- Camanche
-
-
Camanche boys, Northeast girls win track titles
Camanche and Northeast both enjoyed good days on the track in boys and girls competition at state-qualifying meets, with the Camanche boys winning the title and Northeast's girls tying for top honors.
- Camanche man sentenced in kidnapping case CLINTON -- A Camanche man will serve as much as 20 years in prison for holding his wife at knifepoint on July 7, 2012. In April, Arthur Walker, 52, 4102 Ninth St., Camanche, pleaded guilty to third-degree kidnapping, third-degree sexual abuse and wil
-
Camanche City Hall in need of improvement
CAMANCHE -- Members of the Camanche community and city council have begun looking into what should be done with the current city hall.
- Committee will look at new city hall CAMANCHE -- A committee will be formed to look into a new Camanche City Hall location. The Camanche City Council met Wednesday for a work session on what to do about the state of the current city hall. The council agreed to form a committee with memb
-
New road to be fixed
CAMANCHE -- Determann Asphalt Paving L.L.C could be seen along Washington Boulevard on Thursday, grinding spots in the new road. The Camanche City Council agreed Wednesday that fixing the bumps and dips in the road was more important than how it look
- Firefighters respond to business in Camanche CAMANCHE -- Camanche firefighters responded to a blaze Monday at a Camanche business. The Camanche Fire Department arrived at 11:56 a.m. Monday to Economy Coatings, 416 21st St., in response to a dust collector on fire. Upon arrival, firefighters fo
- City council denies request for suicide prevention event CAMANCHE -- The city of Camanche will not make a financial donation to an upcoming walk to prevent suicide. Camanche City Administrator Tom Roth brought a request from Nikki Carber from Speak Out Against Suicide to the council Tuesday night. In a let
-
Camanche woman wins awards for pool play
CAMANCHE -- It's not that Janey Finn hasn't been a good pool player since picking up a stick in 1977. The Scottish-born Camanche resident is known around the area and the state for being a markswoman on the pool table. But these past few weeks of suc
-
Herald's Visitor and Newcomer Guide available for pickup
The Clinton Herald's 2013 Visitor and Newcomer Guide has arrived.
-
Cursive less prominent in area schools
Second-grade students across the Clinton Community School District start learning cursive in the beginning of April. While previous generations of students have worked to master the winding cursive alphabet, new curriculum standards mean current students face a less stringent cursive lesson.
- More Camanche Headlines
-
Camanche boys, Northeast girls win track titles
