OK - 4 young dead via suicide in few weeks in Anadarko, pop. 7,000

News9:

Community Of Anadarko Heartbroken Over Recent Suicides

KFOR:

“It has brought us to our knees”; Oklahoma town grieving after suicide ‘epidemic’

So sad. Another effect of the destruction of mental health services in this country.

wendybtn said:

So sad. Another effect of the destruction of mental health services in this country.

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Gee, thanks, President Reagan! That's swell!

My husband's nephew committed suicide with a 44 magnum in 2009. A few days before, another student at his high school killed himself with a shotgun. My husband's nephew was Dustin C. Brown. He was 15 years old.

http://www.redding.com/news/two-teenagers-died-of-gunshot-wounds-ep-377736620-355815081.html

So very sad--one of these children was only 11 years old. I pray families and schools will talk about this "epidemic" and encourage kids & families to seek help, and be honest with themselves and each other.

Lawton Constitution:

Four suicides of young people leave town in turmoil

The Anadarko community is reeling in the wake of the fourth suicide of a young person since the start of the year.

The latest tragedy occured Tuesday night when an 11-year-old girl took her own life. When Anadarko police officers arrived on the scene, they found the girl dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Ages 11, 16, 21, 22.
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more at the links

Anadarko Police Chief Jason Smith said all of them used a gun.

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http://www.newson6.com/story/31013751/community-of-anadarko-heartbroken-over-recent-suicides

Sulamith said:

My husband's nephew committed suicide with a 44 magnum in 2009. A few days before, another student at his high school killed himself with a shotgun. My husband's nephew was Dustin C. Brown. He was 15 years old.

http://www.redding.com/news/two-teenagers-died-of-gunshot-wounds-ep-377736620-355815081.html

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I am so sorry for your loss. Hard thing to get over especially when they are young. Breaks my heart.

sallye818 said:

So very sad--one of these children was only 11 years old. I pray families and schools will talk about this "epidemic" and encourage kids & families to seek help, and be honest with themselves and each other.

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I would recommend one set of parents bring the kids all together at their house for an overnight get together (boys and girls). I would bring in a "friend" (counselor) to help guide the conversation if it gets off track, but to just let the kids talk. Let them go through the grief together. Let them use each other as a coping mechanism to heal. They are young and new, unbearable grief is as bad as any depression. They need to know they ALL feel that way from time to time. They don't need to hear it from adults...they need to hear it from one another. They will open up and together they can navigate the horror, the anger, the sorrow, and also the intrigue of suicide and of what could be their first real loss of a person they knew and loved. It can make a huge difference on the way they face death and suicide in their future. They will have the strength of surviving as a group and the sense to realize others can relate to their feelings of doubt and despair.

Anyway, it is the way I wish it would be handled. Experience is an excellent teacher.

May those families and friends of the ones who ended their own lives find peace and comfort someday. Repeat to them often, "It wasn't your fault." until they believe you. Their hearts and minds will be telling them differently because it is how we are as humans.

Washington Post:

‘It has brought us to our knees': Small Oklahoma town reeling from suicide ‘epidemic’