Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert offers her thanks, on behalf of the planning committee, to those who helped make this year's Health Fair a success.
To the Editor:
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the superintendent of Newtown Public Schools, Dr Rodrigue, because of her amazing personality, her knowledge, her kindness, and her fairn...
To the Editor:
I would like to express my support for Mitch Bolinsky in the race for 106th District State House of Representatives in Hartford. Mitch has served Newtown well in the past six years in t...
To the Editor:
Mitch Bolinsky, our incumbent Republican State Representative for Newtown and Sandy Hook, is a very thorough man. He is thorough because he cares deeply about Newtown issues, and it sho...
To the Editor:
For the first time in my life, I’m putting a politician’s sign in my front yard. In a country that has become so bipartisan, it is wonderful to know that our town is represented by a ma...
To the Editor:
On November 6th, a Yes vote on the state ballot gives us a say before any state-owned open space property in town is sold, swapped, or given away. This is particularly relevant to Newto...
To the Editor:
I write this letter to endorse Rebekah Harriman-Stites for Connecticut’s 106th State Legislative District. I have known Rebekah for 7-plus years and have seen firsthand her business acu...
To the Editor:
There are several topics of concern that I wanted to share with readers and residents of Newtown to encourage more conversation. Specifically, the recent escalation of commercial develo...
To the Editor:
Newtown residents have been well served in Hartford by State Rep Mitch Bolinsky. During his time in the legislature representing the 106th District, Mitch has used his knowledge and exp...
To the Editor:
Just a few words of special thanks to our State Senator Tony Hwang who always finds time to quickly respond to the extraordinary needs of local constituents and small social agencies. W...
Michelle I applaud and support you for focusing on the issues that impact everyone in the town. The next priority has to be on CT's out of control electricity rates. Your opponent and his supporters are quick to blame the other side of the aisle and have given up on trying to accomplish anything. You need to be the voice at the Capitol that the town needs and has missed for so long.
After your short sighted decisions on bussing, something parents are still feeling the repercussions of, I would not want you making any decisions on traffic.
With all due respect Lynn, while no one's property should be damaged, it is demonstrably false to suggest this issue only happens to Democrat signs. If these comments allowed for photos I could show you some pretty abhorrent examples of what has been done to Republican candidate's signs for years in the past few elections (including local races.) Just today we had a supporter message the RTC that their signs were stolen.
Indeed suicide awareness is important as is asking young people these tough questions. That said, saying that "every suicide is preventable" is not only incorrect, it is overly simplistic at best and downright harmful at worst.
The Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors - an online support resource with over 25,000 members worldwide writes frequently about the ramifications of such slogans. Many family members say that prevention messages leave them feeling guilty, upset and fearful of being judged – as if they “dropped the ball.". A few of the many sentiments on their webpage from bereaved family members include:
-“I believe suicide is preventable ONLY if someone shows a sign. …My daughter did not show any signs."
-“As a newly bereaved mother, I find the campaign offensive & repulsive. It places the responsibility on family members and those who are about to take their lives. We obviously would have done something if our loved ones expressed their intentions." -"Awareness yes. Preventable no. There was nothing to prevent what happened to my son. Nothing. And I am so sick of the saying it is preventable."
-"I lost my husband to suicide four months ago. It makes me feel cold and sick in the pit of my stomach when I read ‘suicide is preventable’ because I think: ‘It’s my fault, I let him down.'"
Suicide - especially youth suicide - is a complex problem with no easy answers. It’s possible to prevent sometimes — but not always.