Suicide survivors help others

We expect the new Moses Lake-based group created for those left behind after a suicide will help many people. The group starts its first meeting May 20 and is still in the process of forming.

The group has come about because of the courage of three surviving family members of suicide, two of whom were interviewed for Wednesday's edition of the Columbia Basin Herald.

One of the group's facilitators, Nancy Thorne, of Moses Lake, lost her brother Mark Timm, 28, nearly 20 years ago. He died by suicide in Idaho when he was serving in the Navy.

Another facilitator, Janiel Edmondson, of Moses Lake, shared with reporter Cheryl Schweizer how much a support group helped her deal with the loss of her daughter, Nicole, 28, who passed away in Spokane about 14 months ago.

Thorne and Edmondson are to be commended for using their difficult experiences to help others by improving their quality of life.

Some people aren't able to take that step and for others, it takes years to get to that point of talking about their loved one.

During her interview with the Columbia Basin Herald, Edmonson said the pain of her brother's death never really went away, and she spent a long time trying to come to terms with his death.

Does Grant County have a particularly high number of suicides for its population of 89,120 people? Nearby the closest comparable county in population is Chelan County, with 72,456 people.

Chelan County experienced 24 more deaths by suicide than Grant County in 2011 and 2012.

In 2011, Grant County reported eight suicides. During that same year, there were 18 suicides in Chelan County.

In 2012, there were 26 suicides in Chelan County and so far, there have been four suicides this year in Chelan County, according to Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris. Grant County reported 12 suicides in 2012.

For the first four months of 2013, Grant County reported four suicides (the same as Chelan County), according to Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison.

The national suicide rate was 14 per 100,000 in 2010, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control.

While the figures may not seem alarming to some, what's disturbing is the number of people affected by each death.

For each suicide, it's estimated there are six survivors left to cope with the loss, according to the American Association of Suicideology's website. This comes to about 5.4 million Americans affected by suicide in the last 25 years.

For more information about registering for the Moses Lake class for those left coping with a suicide, call 509-989-8041 or email ksheppard@griefplace.org.

The class is free and confidential and the location will be disclosed to participants via email. If you know someone who is struggling with the loss of a loved one, please forward this editorial to them.

If you are thinking about suicide, there is help.

Grant County Mental Health is located at 840 East Plum St. in Moses Lake, while Adams County Mental Health is at 425 East Main St., Othello. Both offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

After hours, help is available by phone.

The Grant County crisis number is 509-765-1717 or toll free at 877-467-4303. The crisis line number in Adams County is 509-488-5611.

- Editorial Board