Suicide survivor informs community about suicide prevention | Local news

Clarena Tobon, a former military liaison and business development officer for Cedar Crest Hospital in Killeen, has been dealing with the consequences of suicide for a long time.

"I lost my mother to suicide in January 2007," she said. "Since then, it was only a struggle to essentially understand suicide and what happened, what went wrong and how to find the answer to why."

Tobon's mother suffered mental health problems two years before her death, making her 18-year-old daughter the sole provider of the family. Living in Chicago, Tobon tried to help her mother get the help she needed.

"For two years before her death, she was in good health behavior," she said. "But she had met a man who had initiated her to drugs … Once she met this man, she declined very quickly."

After the suicide, there was a phase of mourning, mixed with a variety of feelings difficult to understand and manage. A support group helped Tobon through this difficult time and gave him a connection with people with similar difficulties.

"When I started at the support group, I was initiated at the American Suicide Prevention Foundation … and when I went with them, I realized that I was far away. to be the only one to survive suicide surveillance. I said.

Tobon became an advocate for the foundation and began helping his community learn more about suicide prevention.

"I have been twice in a press conference to meet with Congress to help with many different bills and I can help people with mental health issues during suicide marches," he said. said Tobon.

She also founded the non-profit organization Hope Happens with another local suicide advocate, Janet Sutton, who lost her son by suicide. The next Out of Darkness Walk, in collaboration with the foundation, is scheduled for October 6 at Harker Heights Community Park.

Although Tobon is never able to fully understand her mother's reasons, she is lucky enough to help others.

"I had to learn to understand that I would never have the answers to the question of why, but what I could do was basically educate my community and myself," Tobon said.

In addition to raising awareness through her walks, she urges people with suicidal loved ones to stand together, but to seek professional help.

"Validate them, do not make them feel like a burden, listen to them … and always look for help, because as a caregiver it can be very difficult," he said. she declared. "You have to go against the stigma we see and help them help themselves because you can not be the hero, they must be their own heroes."

With numbers on the rise, outreach programs are more important than ever. The national suicide rate increased by 28% between 1999 and 2016, from 10.5 to 13.4 per 100,000 people. Learning the red signs and risk factors can be the key to saving someone's life.

"Many of us who have lost someone to suicide … end up realizing that there were all these signs that we did not know before," she said. "Now I know … but it's too late."

Tobon 's goal is to educate and empower as many people as possible to help their loved ones find a different outcome.

"I have lost the most beautiful thing of my life to find one of the most beautiful goals of my life," she said.

Tobon has been working and volunteering in the area of ​​suicide prevention for almost six years and does not intend to stop anytime soon.

"As a survivor, I had the choice, I could become a victim or become the real survivor," she said. "I decided to educate myself and try to change people's lives."