Thursday, October 27, 2011

Not the type of Awareness I want



When I came across this image, I had to re-read it in order to realize that it wasn't a joke. I have mix feelings toward this sign; I am not ignorant in the subject that there are people who hit "rock bottom" and think that the only option is suicide. It bothers me to think that someone at Chinquapin could be going through something that could possibly result in harming themselves. The fact that this sign was in the bridge, in San Francisco, California, has made me realize that I care for the students and my friends that attend Chinquapin thus making it my responsibility to share my experience on how counseling has changed my life. Hopefully with that I can provide an option for my friends and family here at Chinquapin, but I disagree that putting up a sign like the one above is going to really help nor stop people from “hitting rock” bottom. I believe there are other means of getting this message across.

What do you think of this sign? Is it depressing or is it just me?

5 comments:

  1. I think your project is one of the better ones due to the fact that I think everyone needs and deserves some type of counseling. It's a very crucial part of one's life to face doubts, disappointment, and to be afraid of life.

    I think you should start by showing people how important counseling is. Most ignore it and sometimes people think it's not that important. Make that your first priority and show the school that it doesn't make you weak or dumb to go to counseling. I was ignorant of this because I thought counseling was for the weak but then my sister started going to counseling and I noticed that some of the problems she has are problems that I have as well except that she was the only one BRAVE enough to go to these meetings.

    Anyways that's food for thought, and good luck and can't wait to see how your project turns out at the end of the school year.

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  2. I think it is sad that this sign is necessary, but you should look up some statistics on the number of people that commit suicide from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco every year. I don't think the sign is there to fix all of the problems, but to help the people who are in the desperate situation rethink the decision to jump. Maybe you could do some research and see if the sign has helped anyone? Also, you could try to find stories about people who were going to commit suicide, but were talked down by a friend, family member, or even police officer. Does stepping back from that decision actually change anything? Or, most often, do those who find themselves in that desperate of a situation return to commit suicide later?

    Very interesting questions that the sign raises.

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  3. Thank you, Jeremy, for suggesting me to look up stories of people talking to potential "jumpers"; I found stories when a police officer talked a 14 year old girl from jumping. This is very sad but it gives me motivation to get this counseling program started, maybe Chinquapin students aren't at that extreme to commit suicide but who knows.

    Another thing that I found concerning is this one article in Time magazine, it said that one survivor claims to regret jumping, but he regretted it as soon as he let go of the rail.

    "As soon as his hands left the bridge's railing, he says he thought, "I don't want to die." "

    http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1197685,00.html

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  4. Ana,
    If you are concerned about suicide in particular, you might do some research into teen suicide. (I did some research on this when I was in graduate school). Do you think you could educate our students (and teachers) about the signs to look for and how to help others in need. Of course, getting them to a counselor is key, but we may not be able to do that as quickly as some students in other schools?

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  5. Can you cite the source for your sign? Was it CC?

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