AUGUSTA — A measure to help prevent youth suicide secured unanimous backing in the Legislature this week with the goal of preventing other families from going through the heartache that Matt and Rosie Graham of Lewiston felt last year when their depressed 13-year-old daughter Anie killed herself. The bill requires the Maine Department of Education […]
suicide
Posted inMaine
Woman found locked in own car trunk took own life
A woman whose body was found locked in her own car trunk committed suicide and died from a drug overdose, Maine state police said Friday. The state Medical Examiner’s Office said 30-year-old Jenna French died from acute intoxication of Oxycontin and Hydroxyzine. French’s death is not considered suspicious. According to investigators, French’s car was found abandoned in […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Police: Minot man committed suicide
MINOT – A body found Wednesday morning on the banks of the Androscoggin River was that of a 26-year-old local man who had committed suicide, police said Thursday. It was believed the man had jumped from a nearby bridge. Police were sent to an area of the river near the Minot Country Store on Minot […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
'This is my Brave' shares stories of mental illness on stage
Tracy Griffin of Auburn is the executive producer of the show “This is My Brave,” a performance in which 10 local people will share their stories of mental illness this Sunday at The Dolard & Priscilla Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston. “It will be a pretty powerful show,” Griffin said. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal) LEWISTON — Hallie Twomey […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Mainers may get a chance to vote on 'Death with Dignity' measure
A proposal to allow physician-assisted suicide may wind up on the ballot for Mainers to decide. Backers of the Maine Death with Dignity Act, which fell short in the Legislature, plan to launch a petition drive to collect enough signatures to allow a referendum on the issue. The lead applicant, end-of-life consultant Valerie Lynn Lovelace […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Therapists turning to tech for help preventing teen suicide
Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are testing an app in schools that analyzes language to determine whether teens are at risk for suicide. They call it Spreading Activation Mobile or “SAM.” In any given week, Ben Crotte, a behavioral health therapist at Children’s Home of Cincinnati, speaks to dozens of students in need […]
Posted inOxford Hills
Body found beside Route 26 ruled suicide
OXFORD — Police ruled the death of a Saco man on Route 26 a suicide, according to Oxford Police Chief Jon Tibbetts. Tibbetts said a woman was driving near the Oxford Casino at 6:45 a.m. Monday when she saw a man hanging from a tree at the roadside. Police learned he is from Saco but […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Skowhegan man who kills himself tells police: 'Hurry up,' I'm organ donor
SKOWHEGAN (AP) — A Maine man told a 911 dispatcher he was killing himself and first responders needed “to hurry up” because he was an organ donor. Skowhegan police Chief David Bucknam says the man was still breathing when first responders arrived Sunday night but he died a few minutes later. Bucknam says a handgun […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Suicide epidemic: Social, economic or both?
Ours is a nation in despair. U.S. suicide rates have surged to a 30-year high, and it’s not just among struggling middle-aged whites. Suicides by girls age 10 to 14 have spiked over the last 18 years. And there’s been a shocking surge in children 17 or under dying from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Since 1999, […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston school district discusses dealing with student tragedies
LEWISTON — The school year that ended Wednesday for middle-schoolers was a tough one, with two students dying in the past six months. During a sparsely attended community forum to discuss the district’s response to tragedy Wednesday night, Lewiston Middle School Principal Jake Langlais talked about how staff responded to the deaths, and why the […]