by MARISA IATI, Washington Post, AUGUST 26, 2019
A parking garage had 6 suicides in 4 years. Signs on the walls are trying to prevent more.
This article not only brought into our attention the issue of parking garage suicide, but also proposed a way to help ease the current condition as much as possible. Fonda Bryant, a mental health activist in Charlotte, N.C. had been attempting to put up signs and posters in parking garages in hope to better prevent suicides. As Bryant stated in the article “…she knows some people might criticize her signs as addressing only a problem’s symptoms and not its root causes, but she said prevention efforts have to start somewhere.”
I agree strongly with Bryant here. I think when dealing with a problem as complex as suicide, there is no singular solution that perfectly solves the problem; sometimes identifying and addressing the symptoms is exactly what’s needed for now, as Bryant puts it, “…prevention efforts have to start somewhere.”
