The connection between suicide prevention and the St. Michael tragedy: Excerpt from email to the Anchorage Press

The connection between the drowning that occurred here in St. Michael and suicide prevention came about after a conversation I had the morning following the drowning, when the teacher I am working with most closely here, Megan Stuppy, shared with me her serious concern about the possibility of suicide following this incident. The desperation and hopelessness people were/are feeling after the drowning creates the perfect storm of conditions that put this community at high risk for another senseless death. St. Michael has suffered 3 suicides already this school year; in addition to the death of 2 elders. In a village this small and remote, nearly everyone is related to each other in some fashion, so a death in the village essentially equates to the death of a family member. 

Megan's worry struck a chord in me, as I have been struggling to make sense of the high suicide rate in Alaska since moving here 9 years ago. I have suffered the loss of nearly one friend/acquaintance/colleague/student each year to suicide since living here, and have felt helpless to do anything to stop what feels like a hemorrhage of our community's bright, amazing people. Toss some isolation into that feeling, and I understand viscerally how dark and difficult it can be to keep making the choice to stick around on the planet. Only one thing keeps me continually tethered, and though it's not socially acceptable for me to tell you, it isn't my family, friends, or even my adorable cat "Banzai". In the toughest times of my life, when I have been unable or unwilling to take comfort in the network of support that surrounds me, some stubborn tiny spark of creativity manages to get my attention, to get me moving and move me through the tough stuff. 

It isn't even about making something epic, staging the grand gesture, creating a masterpiece, it's so much quieter than that. It's simply about sitting in the black hole of despair and getting distracted by the tiniest opportunity to do something interesting so that, as you start to engage in the activity, any activity, you begin living again without even realizing it. Until, of course, you do realize, and then it's gratitude time. 

My hope for the "1000 Cranes for Alaska" project is that it offers up one such tiny opportunity, and before you know it, you're plugged in to an instant and growing network of support and creative inspiration.