Home Oakley City of Oakley Hit with 5th Suicide of the Year

City of Oakley Hit with 5th Suicide of the Year

by ECT

Oakley

This past Monday, the community in Oakley has been hit with its 5th suicide of the year. On average, in Contra Costa County, 112 people die by suicide with many more attempting suicide.

According to Oakley City Councilwoman Diane Burgis, she reported during her council report during the March 25 meeting, that she requested a report on suicides in Oakley. What she found out from the report was that in the past 5-years, there have been a total of 9-suicides reported. However, in the last three months in Oakley there has been 4-sucides (based on Monday’s incident, the figure is now 5).

“That is troubling to me,” said Burgis. “Looking at the cases there is nothing that ties them together… I know we are all trying to do what we can do but we should be proactive.”

Burgis stated that she called Supervisor Mary Piepho’s office and have asked her to bring in some mental help programs to help pay a little more attention to us and maybe do some brainstorming to see what the city can do to encourage people to reach out to one another.

Contra Costa County Crisis Center:

The mission of the Contra Costa Crisis Center is to keep people alive and safe, help them through crises, and connect them with culturally relevant resources in the community.

The Contra Costa Crisis Center is governed by a 15-member board of trustees. A staff of 20 is assisted by nearly 200 active volunteers. Our budget is $1.8 million (80 percent for direct services, 7 percent for administration, and 13 percent for fundraising). Fifty-Six percent of our funding comes from individuals, businesses, foundations, civic groups, and proceeds from Leftovers Thrift Shop, an agency auxiliary; 44 percent comes from government. We are purchasing our 7,000 square-foot facility in Walnut Creek.

Website: http://www.crisis-center.org/

24-Hour Numbers

  • Information & Referral: 211
  • Crisis and Suicide: 800-833-2900
  • Grief: 800-837-1818
  • Homeless: 800-808-6444

East County Resource Guide
http://www.crisis-center.org/wp-content/uploads/East_Resource_Guide.pdf

Warning Signs

There’s no typical suicide victim. Suicide transcends all ages beginning with adolescence, all ethnicities and cultures, all socio-economic groups, and all religions, as well as gender, sexual orientation, and ablebodiness.

There are common warning signs, however:

  • Talking about suicide or making statements revealing a desire to die.
  • Drastic changes in behavior (withdrawal, apathy, moodiness).
  • Losing interest in hobbies and in personal appearance.
  • Depression (crying, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, hopelessness)
  • Worsening academic or job performance and sudden failure to complete assignments.
  • Lack of interest in activities and surroundings (dropping out of sports and clubs).
  • Settling affairs (giving away prized possessions such as books or a CD collection).
  • Increased moodiness, irritability, or aggressiveness.
  • Remarks suggesting profound unhappiness, despair, or feelings of worthlessness.
  • Death and suicidal themes in written work.
  • Self-destructive behavior (taking unnecessary risks or increased drug or alcohol use).

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6 comments

JimSimmons42 Apr 3, 2014 - 6:38 am

I am curious what the figure is in Antioch. Do you know?

John Cook (@asfan91) Apr 3, 2014 - 7:36 am

Or, in my Dad’s case 4 weeks ago, he decided cancer wasn’t going to kill him…

Cathy Daniel Apr 3, 2014 - 10:22 am

Loss of financial freedom is often a huge factor. Why don’t our Council members work on bringing businesses to the area? I don’t care about more stores. Store clerks don’t make a “living wage” How about the guy that ran for Brentwood City Council on a platform that he was going to bring in businesses from over the hill yet NEVER drives over the hill, nor knows anyone.
Let’s think about this….financial freedom may help give these people a greater sense of accomplishment and raise their spirits. I know it’s a pretty band-aid fix, but it’s a start.

Janice Gomes Apr 3, 2014 - 3:59 pm

City manager Brian Montgomery feels when Oakley reaches 50,000 in population (this is what Safeway requires) this city will be better suited for business. Thus we have the push for more housing in an area over saturated with vehicles and roads not able to handle the population at hand now. Oakley has lacked the desire to bring in and grow the business population for years. Even the chamber of commerce dropped the citizen of the year award stating it was not a profitable event. Oakley needs to become more about the community and less about the greed of money.

Julio Apr 4, 2014 - 5:14 am

Brian Montgomery is not the sharpest of people and I would take anything he says with a grain of salt. Talk about greedy and a few other things.

joe blow from brentwood Apr 3, 2014 - 11:12 am

Lets not over dramatize it or overly report it in the media. The media in SF does not report suicides from people jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. On average, one person every three weeks takes their life on the bridge. The media does not report it because it might encourage others to do the same.

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