Suicide prevention efforts show promise
To get help
If you are thinking about suicide or think a friend is, call Rock County Crisis Intervention at (608) 757-5025. If someone is injured or in immediate danger, call 911.
On the web
Deputy Rock County Coroner Tony Farrell Sr. makes presentations to public or private groups about suicide prevention. A recorded version of his presentation is available online. To view it, visit youtube.com and search for "Rock County Coroner's Office safety series."
If you would like Farrell to speak at your event, call the coroner's office at (608) 757-5908.
JANESVILLE — More Rock County people are committing suicide in 2011 than in recent years, but Tony Farrell Sr. is focusing on a more encouraging number.
So far, 14 people have called Farrell to say his suicide prevention talk helped. They saved friends. They saved themselves.
Farrell is a deputy Rock County coroner and in 2011 has-on his own time-spoken to public and private groups about suicide prevention. He tailors his presentation to the group's size. He has spoken at schools, colleges and churches, as well as in private homes, Farrell said.
"Basically, anyone that will listen," he said.
The presentation is part of a safety series planned by the coroner's office, Chief Deputy Coroner Lou Smit said. The office chose to address suicides because of the increasing rate in the county, Smit said.
As of early November, the coroner's office had confirmed 29 suicides in 2011. That's a 93 percent increase since 2007, when 15 suicides were confirmed, according to coroner's office data. It is one more suicide than took place in all of 2010, according to the data.
Most suicides in Rock County coincided with financial problems, which fits national trends, he said.
A nine-minute version of Farrell's presentation is available online. Every presentation and every viewing has the potential to save a life, Farrell said.
"The whole idea is to network so people can start support groups," Farrell said. "Communication is the key, certainly, in the prevention of this tragedy."
Farrell said people should not hesitate to act if they think friends or family members are severely depressed or suicidal. People considering suicide often want to talk, and talking could diffuse the problem, he said.
BY THE NUMBERS
15-Number suicides in Rock County in 2007 and 2008.
23-Number of suicides in Rock County in 2009.
28-Number of suicides in Rock County in 2010.
29-Number of suicides in Rock County as of Nov. 1, 2011.
17 to 100-Age range of suicide victims this year in Rock County.
16-Number of victims in 2011 that were in their 40s or 50s. The other 13 were divided among other decades.
23-Number of men who committed suicide in Rock County in 2011.
-Source: Rock County Coroner's Office
On the web
Deputy Rock County Coroner Tony Farrell Sr. makes presentations to public or private groups about suicide prevention. A recorded version of his presentation is available online. To view it, visit youtube.com and search for "Rock County Coroner's Office safety series."
If you would like Farrell to speak at your event, call the coroner's office at (608) 757-5908.
To get help
If you are thinking about suicide or think a friend is, call Rock County Crisis Intervention at (608) 757-5025. If someone is injured or in immediate danger, call 911.
