BROWN COUNTY (WTAQ-WLUK) – The deaths of two well-known celebrities come at a time when federal health officials say suicide rates have drastically increased.
In a report released by the CDC it said suicides had increased by 25 percent in the last decade with nearly 45,000 people taking their own life in 2016
Those alarming statistics are why many advocates like Barb Bigalke with the Center for Suicide Awareness have been encouraging people to seek help.
“We still have that stigma that if we ask for help its a sign of weakness and it’s not, It’s a sign of strength and we all struggle,” said Bigalke. “When we talked about people that have actually attempted suicide and lived they talk about that unclear thinking and they didn’t see their loved ones and all of those reasons to have for living,” she said.
Dealing with the aftermath of a loved one taking their own life is something a Green Bay funeral home director said he deals with first hand.
“Sadly enough in 2016 there were 47 suicides in the Green Bay community and sometimes families come in at a complete loss because it’s something that they didn’t see their loved one going through and weren’t prepared to dealing with,” said Sean Smith the funeral director of Newcomer Funeral Home.
Smith said he believes providing support and resources for those families can also help others and save the life of someone else.
“It’s also important for families to understand that it’s nothing to be ashamed of and that their story can help somebody else,” said Smith.
