This is the second friend of mine that's succeeded after multiple suicide attempts since October. Our system isn't perfect, but we need to change how we treat people that constantly try to take their own lives. I know that the pain becomes too much sometimes. The tattoos that cover my forearms are there for a reason. But what I've learned past the pain is that so are all of us. Last year I had to fight to get a friend the help he needs. He had been admitted both against his own will and at his own behest in various forms of distress to CAMH and despite doing things that endangered his own life (hopping balconies 30 floors up, barefoot in the dead of winter while having a psychotic break) their help consisted of holding him for 3 days, then releasing him.
Another friend took her own life last week after a similar situation as this (she had been sexually assaulted and felt she wasn't getting any justice). She messaged me as she was dying, but I didn't realize what she was saying to me. It was a few days before New Years and she wasn't coherent. I thought she had just gotten the party started early. Another friend I spoke to informed me that this was her 4th attempt in the past two months. He had called the police on her and they had exhausted their "legal" ability. She was clearly a woman dealing with severe mental health challenges, but I can't believe that someone who'd repeatedly tried to take her own life was given the same approach / treatment (hold three days, release) without everything being done to help get to the root of their issues.
Because of my work, I know ALOT of people. I'm exposed to so much both good and bad. But I choose to continue to believe in the good. I continue to choose to laugh, to dance, to cry and inspire. Because LIFE continues to give me a reason to do all of those things. If you feel you are alone, you aren't. I love you. I'll be here for you as much as I can be. You're never just a name to me. You're a person. As much as I want to be seen the same way. We're all one. For better or for worse. Can we all just please take today to love each other and ourselves a little more? To understand each other a little more and to be there for each other a little more? RIP Kassidi Coyle. Her family asked that this story be spread far and wide. Please do so and use the hashtag #JusticeForKassidi
KB