Suicide at Green Lake
It didn’t make headlines, probably because suicide is now a fairly everyday occurrence. It is sad to me to note that the United States ranks among highest in the world for depression and suicide. In this time of recession, during this time of war those numbers have gone up. Mental health issues plague people of every socio-economic levels and in conversations with folks at the coffee cart at the church it is not uncommon to hear of family members who have mental health, drug, or poor decision making issues. This person who took his life in November could have been related to anyone in our neighborhood.
The gentleman who committed suicide in November that I’m speaking of, Gerald, was homeless and the Women in Black held a vigil in his honor at city hall, as they do for all who die on the streets of Seattle in our homeless community. It seemed more than appropriate to stand in respect for this neighbor and so I headed down on this very cold Wednesday to stand with 7 other women and 2 men who were distributing information to remember Gerald and all those who pass on our streets. When I first arrived a man approached me who wanted to acknowledge that he knew Gerald and his dog, they had the same payee, and how much he appreciated us standing for him. He described Gerald as a very nice man, but very troubled, he felt he was finally at peace, Gerald was only 42. The man who spoke with me was also homeless, had slept outside the night before, a night where the temperatures dipped below 20 degrees. He came simply to say thank you for the prayers and the remembrance of a friend. The warmth of his heart, the depth of compassion to take the time to come down on that cold day touched me deeply. He and Gerald weren’t close, but he knew him, he cared. Those standing touched me as well, some homeless, some advocates, some clergy, old, young, dedicated. The men passing out information to passer-bys telling the story of those struggling on the streets to all who would hear were amazing as they engaged people of all types with warmth and dedication. It was a time of great caring and dedication.
The afternoon made me mindful of two great needs: for more outreach of compassion to those who are living with distress and depression who are living, and for the importance of memorializing all who pass from this world. On the first topic my mind takes me to sociology studies in college where we learned that where there are more churches per capita there are fewer suicides per capita. It is vital that all people of faith witness and invite folks into our places of worship for the fellowship and support community that we treasure, is what provides great healing to humanity. Psychologists report that support groups are essential for the effective treatment of people suffering depression. The healing power of people of faith comes in many ways, we need to invite and welcome every soul we meet, it will change and even save lives.
The second need is for remembrance, in our church we acknowledge the sense of loss and the essential need for remembrance in our All Saint’s, Blue Christmas and memorial services for our beloved. These are needs not just for all those in the church, but all those in our world. Whether it was Gerald’s friend passing on the street, or even just to name that every person is a child of God and should be remembered for their creation in our world. Someone in our congregation named their Christmas practice of placing wreaths on the graves of veterans at Washelli, a holiday tradition of recognizing their sacred worth. Often families of those who are homeless won’t know their loved ones have passed for years, and yet they mourn and a place to mourn would be a comfort. In Seattle we have an annual memorial service for those who have passed on who were homeless or even unknown by our County’s medical examiner. But a place to remember that is more than an unmarked grave would acknowledge the lives of those who have been lost, sometimes even before their death. People lost to poverty, health issues, mental health issues, addictions, and other unfortunate conditions of life that have separated them from family and home. I have yet to serve a church where someone did not come to me to talk about the heartache of having a homeless relative, or even the experience of having been homeless themselves. Homeless people are US, people of God, a place of remembrance and honoring of their lives would be a comfort to so many.
The Remembrance Project in Seattle is a great effort from many wonderful advocates to ensure that folks like Gerald are remembered with dignity in a special setting. The City Parks department has approved a memorial planned to be in Steinbrueck Park, you can give by going to their web site: www.homelessnessproject.org . For those of us who’ve lost friends and loved ones who passed away homeless, we can have a place to remember, to pray, to know that in their depths, they are honored. We all need sacred space.