In small communities, death is felt greatly. The untimely death of one of our own sends ripples of shock and grief that are felt not only by the deceased’s loved ones, but by wider circles on Vashon and sometimes by people who didn’t even know the them.
For some time now, islanders have been discussing how an alarmingly high number of tragic deaths have occurred on Vashon in recent years. Many have been suicides, but others have been accidents, such as car crashes or drug overdoses. Michael Meade, who is organizing the Crush the Fog event this weekend, has counted 15 of what he considers tragic deaths in a two-year period, 10 of them suicides. Statistics kept by King County show there were six suicides on Vashon last year, twice as many as any year over the last two decades of available data.
It should be noted, however, that there’s no evidence that an uptick in tragic deaths or suicides on the island is anything more than random. Public health officials explain that it takes years of data to establish a trend, and when looking at numbers as small as Vashon’s, even a doubled statistic may not mean much.
It’s good that a small group of islanders from various walks of life is now working to try to help the community, and particularly youth, work through lingering grief and find hope in life. It’s also good that the school district continues to consider how it can incorporate suicide prevention in the schools and help everyone have a better grasp on mental health issues. We should do these things not because of any perceived trend on Vashon, but because like anywhere, even one death by suicide or one death by drug overdose is one too many.
Suicide is complex, and in nine out of 10 deaths by suicide, mental disorders and/or substance abuse has been found to contribute. Studies have shown that early intervention to promote health in young people goes a long way to prevent mental health issues and other problems later in life. In fact, King County Executive Dow Constantine recently proposed a countywide levy that would target children’s health in hopes of reducing the demand for county services, including criminal justice programs, down the road. On Vashon, like in many places, funding for mental health services leaves much to be desired. Our social services agency, Vashon Youth & Family Services, has seen its funding continually shrink.
A community healing event makes sense and in large part will be what those who attend make of it. Recognizing grief is a first step to recovery. But to stop future suicides and other preventable deaths, we should look beyond any single event to what we can offer to the most vulnerable in our community and particularly to young people.
