Suicides all too common in Hawaii. Everyone is rightly concerned about the recent pedestrian deaths, and action need to be taken to prevent them.

In Hawaii, suicides are seven times more common than pedestrian deaths. In particular, Hawaii’s middle and high school students have among the highest rates in the nation of planning and attempting suicide; the number of suicides among young people aged 15-24 years has doubled between 2007 and 2013, from 15 to 30.

Suicide is an unfathomable tragedy for everyone undefined the person whose life has been cut short, and the grieving friends and family members who suffer endless agony. But perhaps the most tragic aspect of suicide is that it is preventable: 90 percent of people who die by suicide had a mental disorder when they died, but in all likelihood this had not been recognized or treated.

We as a community need to take this issue on. We all must learn the warning signs, reach out to those who are troubled, and get them help.

Marya Grambs
Executive Director, Mental Health America of Hawaii