Suicide stats

Dear Editor:First, I would like to thank The Downey Patriot for the great coverage it has provided the Sean Vernon Feliciano Amazing Day Foundation. In the excellent article written by Christian Brown, however, I was misquoted regarding an article I read from the Associated Press. Mr. Brown stated that I found "that more than 2,700 students commit suicide every year in the United States." What I said was that I read an AP article that said since February 2008, 15 border patrol officers took their lives, which I said was horrible, but during that same period of time 2,700 students took their lives with no media attention. Another misquote was that for every one success there was one attempt. The correct statistic is that for every one attempt there are 100-200 attempts which equates to each year 11,000 to 22,000 students attempt suicide in our nation. Truly tragic numbers. Any suicide for me and other survivors is tragic, but when bright, young college students take their lives it seems like there is little concern expressed by the media. I believe we collectively can save lives if we take the subject out of the closet. As survivors we search for answers; unfortunately, too often there are none. The goal of our foundation is to seek answers and to speak to anyone who will listen that we can stop this waste of such precious young people. With that said I hope the residents of Downey will come to Stonewood Center this Saturday, Sept. 11, and support our walk for life. After the walk we will be holding a second event at Chili's Bar and Grill at Downey Landing from 11 a.m. to midnight. Chili's will be donating 15 percent of the bill for food and beverages to the foundation. Again, I thank the folks at The Downey Patriot for covering this event and all the events that preceded the walk. -- Bob Feliciano, Amazing Day Foundation

********** Published: September 9, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 21