Synergy and the Waiting Room Café are teamed up to help break the taboo around suicide Sept. 10 for World Suicide Prevention Day.
“It’s a very, very private thing,” said Synergy Program Coordinator Christy Redl.
While private, Redl said that it is important to start a conversation about suicide prevention.
“People don’t tend to talk about their experiences with suicide or with suicidal ideation,” she said.
She said that there is often a lot of stigma and shame attached to suicide. This stigma needs to be removed because it can stop people from seeking help before it’s too late.
“We want to make sure that it doesn’t get lost or forgotten and that families are being supported,” said Redl.
To break through the stigma, Redl said people need to stop being afraid of the topic.
“If we’re willing to talk about it openly, with the severity that it deserves…it allows people to open up about what they’re thinking about and to reach out for support,” she said.
World Suicide Prevention Day is an internationally recognized day which is meant to help break the taboo along with remembering those lost to or affected by suicide.
This year, those who couldn’t come out to the Waiting Room Café were encouraged to light a candle and put it in their window to show their support for World Suicide Prevention Day.
“It’s a quiet way of showing support,” said Redl.
People were invited to come enjoy a coffee between 6-8 p.m. while talking about their experiences with suicide. Resources as well as trained counselors were on site to offer help and support to anyone who needed it.
The night ended with a walk to the nearby Kinniburgh pond just before 8 p.m. for a brief ceremony at a memorial tree planted there.
“We light our candle together as a group and people are invited to say a prayer or share a memory,” said Redl.
