Contact: Rhonda Haiston
Phone: 619-537-9870
February 13, 2016 (Coronado) – Soon to be considered the worst kept secret in town, most people don’t realize that the San Diego-Coronado Bridge has the dubious reputation as the third most popular bridge to commit suicide in the United States. After San Francisco installs a net later this year to thwart suicides off their iconic bridge, the local span will rise to second place. Unfortunately, the rate of suicides from the bridge has increased 50% over the last four years compared to prior year’s averages. And while some of the research shows younger males (many from military backgrounds) are more likely to commit suicide off the bridge, data provided by the San Diego County Examiner details how victims come from every age category and includes all demographics and social/economic backgrounds.
In response to the increased rate of suicides, a local citizens group was formed last year, The Coronado San Diego Bridge Collaborative for Suicide Prevention (Collaborative) to spearhead a process that combats the ease of committing suicide from the easily accessible structure. Volunteers of the Collaborative (including scores of business professionals, military, doctors, nurses and firefighters plus victim’s families) have made progress in gaining more broad-based support for an effort to re-engineer approaches that make the bridge safer since its construction in 1969. Many types of deterrent devices will be explored with the final construction ultimately paid for by federal funds. Any design selected would be based on level of safety, military support and degree of aesthetics so as not to detract from the visual beauty of the bridge. The Coronado City Council, San Diego Supervisors and other elected representatives from the San Diego region have shown support to explore the concept more fully.
SANDAG is the ultimate responsible entity to manage the process but first will need to be convinced of the practicality and feasibility since they are not championing the concept. The Collaborative has launched a preliminary exploratory phase to start an environmental review process and has contacted HNTB Engineering, (the same company that San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge used) to provide an initial analysis estimated to cost $15,000. A Go Fund me account has already raised $3,000 and the group seeks more donations at http://gofundme.com/NotOneMoreLife/ to immediately jumpstart the process.
In a parallel development, San Diego State’s graduate film program has offered to work with the Collaborative to create public service announcements to raise awareness and promote education to address information gaps and dispel rumors and myths about suicide. “The idea that victims will just go somewhere else if they really want to end their lives is a widely held misconception that needs to be corrected,” says Executive Director, Rhonda Haiston. “The fact is that if you take away a commonly used lethal method of suicide from a populated area, the rates of suicide have been shown to decrease and the incidents of suicides at other bridges in that area have not shown to increase.”
Ellen Rosas, a school teacher and friend of Brian Bell who jumped off the bridge in 2014 explains, “We want the bridge to be what it was built for — a lovely pathway between two cities and not a place that people attribute to loss and sadness where they end their lives”. She continued that “We have a 100% solution available that can save lives, and until we do something, many in Coronado and San Diego will continue to lose friends, family members, and loved ones from the bridge.” Wayne Strickland, a former fire fighter for 32 years in Coronado stated that “We have to recognize that thousands of residents in the area suffer silently from a friend or family member’s death off the bridge and now is the time to talk about it and, as a community, offer to explore solutions similar to the success now being implemented in San Francisco.”
The Collaborative supports increased mental health access and endorses any methods to assist depressed or suffering people. But the reality remains that many people will continue to chose to end their lives by jumping from the bridge. While national and regional efforts combat the overall mental challenges related to treating underlying causes of suicide, a deterrent will provide a final solution to make sure that no more lives are lost due to the access and convenience of using the bridge.
Questions and donations can be directed to the Bridge Collaborative at: (619) 537-9870 [email protected] or by visiting CoronadoSanDiegoBridgeCollaborative.org.
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