|
|
State Begins Effort to Stop Suicide of Elderly
The Oregonian
June 17, 2004
Community meetings will explain the problem, which kills more than 100 Oregonians each year
The state is launching a program to prevent suicide among the elderly.
"More than 100 of our older residents take their lives each year. If this was an infectious disease, there would be a huge outcry," said Dr. Mel Kohn, state epidemiologist.
As part of the program, the Oregon Department of Human Services will hold community meetings to increase awareness of the problem.
Jacqueline Zimmer-Jones, director of the Oregon Association of Area Agencies on Aging and Disabilities, said Oregon is seeing more older people driven to the edge because of cutbacks in social services.
"We cut prescription drug assistance and in-home care to 12,000 seniors and people with disabilities in Oregon," Zimmer-Jones said. "Most of those people were living on the edge already, and we disconnected them from a lifeline."
Jeff Lukehart, who coordinates senior peer counseling at Willamette Valley Senior Services, said a prime cause of depression in the elderly is that they're living longer than they expected, sometimes even outliving their children. Others, he said, are outliving their finances.
Lukehart's program serves about 240 people each year in Yamhill, Polk, Marion, Clatsop and Tillamook counties. Peer counselors could serve as primary identifiers of those who need referrals to counseling professionals, he said.
According to national data provided by the Department of Human Services, 98 percent of elderly suicides occur in the white population, and 90 percent of those deaths occur among men, who have a 10 to 15 times greater suicide rate than women.
For information about the statewide elder-suicide prevention plan, contact Lisa Millet at 503-731-8597 or Lisa.M.Millet@state.or.us. Or call Bonnie Widerburg, 503-731-4180, or visit www.dhs.state.or.us.
Community meetings are scheduled in North Bend on June 22, Gresham on June 23, Eugene on June 25, Bend on July 14 and Baker City on July 20.
|
|
