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Juneau Suicide Prevention picnic sends waves of hope through annual awareness event
‘Let them know that they’re not alone, and then let them know that them reaching out was a really brave thing for them to do’
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
About three years ago, Tim Eide Sr. attempted suicide. On Saturday, with the sun shining on his cedar hat, he looked across the Gastineau Channel toward the evergreen Mount Roberts.
“It just can’t be an option anymore for me to even think suicide, because look what I’d miss,” he said.
Eide Sr., 66, said he hopes sharing his story will help his nine grandchildren and others know there’s another way. He said he served 13 years in the military. After his attempt years ago, he spent three months in Chris Kyle Patriots Hospital. Eide Sr. said 50 officers there were experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Eide Sr. said he attends veteran support groups and is in counseling. He said he is also a part of the Tlingit Haida Elders Dance Group.
“If you’re having anxiety or stress, talk about it. Don’t just bottle it up and hold it in. Give yourself a chance to heal, and we’re all healing,” he said. “We all need hope.”
Eide Sr. offered that encouragement to dozens who attended the Juneau Suicide Prevention awareness picnic at Sandy Beach this past weekend. He said he was inspired to speak — to come out in the light and share his story.
“I want to encourage anybody that’s going through suicidal thoughts, you come find me, and I will sit there and talk your ear off about not going through that,” he told those gathered inside the picnic shelter. “The more I talk about it, the more I can let it go some more. It’s healing.”
Shortly after his remarks, Eide Sr. was embraced and thanked for his words.
“Never give up,” he said.
The annual event, organized by The National Alliance on Mental Illness in Juneau, the Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition, and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, takes place during National Suicide Prevention Month to share community resources and support those who have lost someone to suicide or are experiencing suicidal ideation.
Cedar chips and remembrance rocks were provided so people could write a name or message to honor a loved one and put “good medicine” into the community. Forget-me-not seeds were also offered to plant in memory of people lost to suicide. Burning cedar chips is a traditional Tlingit grieving ceremony.
“If you’ve ever been to a koo.éex, they start off with a grieving ceremony to close out that losing somebody just in general — closing out that grief and moving into what they call fun times or they might refer to it as something else — happy times. And so that’s kind of the idea that we hoped to bring,” said NAMI Juneau Suicide Prevention Manager Margaret Katzeek.
NAMI is partnering with the Juneau School District to present “Signs of Suicide” for parents and caregivers on Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Floyd Dryden. Charity Anderson, NAMI’s youth suicide prevention program coordinator, said coaches and teachers are also welcome to attend. No registration is required. A similar presentation is being given in all schools, according to NAMI.
Anderson shared some signs of suicide to look out for in youth during an interview.
“Maybe they’re isolating a lot. If somebody is typically an outgoing person and they just stop doing the things that they like to do. Maybe they’re self-harming,” she said. “Just like any major changes in behavior that we notice are a sign that something is going on. It might not mean that they’re necessarily suicidal, but it’s a sign that something is going on and we should get it figured out before it turns into something bigger.”
Anderson said if someone notices a sign, they should take the youth’s concerns seriously.
“Let them know that they’re not alone, and then let them know that them reaching out was a really brave thing for them to do,” she said.
Anderson said connecting youth with community mental health resources is a good next step. This week's presentation aims to equip trusted adults with the tools needed to handle these conversations with youth in grades six through 12.
She said suicide prevention also includes physical activities, getting outdoors, and eating well and sleeping enough. Anderson also recommended youth seeking connection visit the Zach Gordon Youth Center.
“I think the biggest thing with suicide prevention and mental illness is that it’s still a thing that people don’t want to talk about,” Anderson said. “So us doing this and holding the space to just let people know that this is a safe place. This is something that’s happening a lot in Southeast, whether you’re affected by it directly or not. It’s important just to hold space for these conversations.”
She said youth need more mental health services in Southeast Alaska so they can stay close to their support system while going through a crisis instead of having to travel elsewhere. In the roughly two years she’s been the program coordinator, she said she’s noticed an increase in youth reaching out for help.
NAMI will also be scheduling a peer support associate class soon, with an interest list available on its website. The class is for people willing to use their lived experience in recovery from substance use or mental illness to help others. The week-long 40-hour class gives the recipient a state certificate at the end. NAMI has trained approximately 65 people so far. Aaron Surma, the nonprofit’s executive director, teaches the class.
“For the person in recovery themselves, it’s to not be ashamed of your past and think of it as a strength rather than a weakness. That was incredible for me,” he said. “I think the person who is the peer support associate — that’s the benefit.”
He said the benefit for the person receiving support is having someone they can relate to. Surma said JAHMI has a peer support program, and attendees of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have also participated in the class before.
Mental health presentations can also be requested by organizations or a group of friends. NAMI can be reached at 907-463-4251 or by emailing namijuneau@gmail.com.
Michaela Demmert is the community and cultural healer for Tlingit and Haida’s Community and Behavioral Services. A support group was started last month in response to recent suicide losses in Southeast. The group meets on the first and third Thursday of each month and can be reached at 907-463-7305.
The tribe’s Community and Behavioral Services offers individual counseling and same-day appointments with an on-call clinician for mental health emergencies. It also offers a range of other support groups.
On Wednesday, Tlingit and Haida will host a free recovery resource fair at its Community Council at 3235 Hospital Drive from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. September is National Recovery Month, which aims to raise awareness of substance use and celebrate people in recovery.
Another upcoming event for National Suicide Prevention Month is Tlingit and Haida’s ocean dip from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Auke Recreation Area’s Eagle Shelter. It was rescheduled from earlier this month due to weather.
“There are resources where people will listen,” Demmert said. “People care and it’s coming from a really genuine place.”
While the theme is to honor suicide awareness, she said people can dip for whatever reason, adding that anyone is welcome.
“The idea is that you go out into the water and the water takes whatever you’re carrying,” she said. “A lot of our culture is around the water, right? It’s our food, it’s our highway system, it literally brings us life. And so the idea is that the ancestors will help take some of that weight off of you.”
The Juneau Suicide Prevention awareness picnic concluded with several people taking paddles to the water with that idea in mind. They climbed into the One People Canoe Society’s Eagle canoe and rowed near Sandy Beach. A decade ago, the One People Canoe Society began partnering with the Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition to support healing during the picnic.
On the canoe, paddlers shared they attended the event because they have lost loved ones to suicide or struggled with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts themselves.
“If you ever have something that’s really weighing heavily on you and really hard to think about, come out and offer that to the water because it’s got a lot more capacity to hold something than you do,” said skipper Sʼáḵjayéi Yarrow Vaara.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
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