One of 3 Suicide Awareness Wreaths placed in City Hall Circle in front of the Replica of the Liberty Bell. Source Unknown.
*Photo by Joe Bayona
I happened to be walking in the City Hall Center Park a few days after the September 11th Ceremony. There were 3 wreaths with beautiful yellow flowers. When I walked a little closer, I noticed a sash across each one that said, “Suicide Awareness.”
I didn’t have a clue who participated in the ceremony or when it took place. The irony is that there was a suicide on the Victory Bridge by a teen who jumped off and it was after that wreath was laid there.
A car crosses the bridge linking Perth Amboy and Hopelawn on New Brunswick Ave.
Ironically another body was discovered when they recovered the teen’s body.
There was supposed to be a Prayer March taking place a few weeks ago on the Victory Bridge. The march had to be cancelled due to bad weather. That march was to remember those who had committed suicide or were victims of homicide on that bridge. In the past those who participated in the prayer march included family members and friends of the victims, clergy and local politicians and the community at large.
There have been calls and pleas for fencing to be placed on this bridge since the first suicide took place. There was one person who from the beginning who had predicted the lack of fencing would make this bridge attractive to those contemplating suicide. That person was Dot Daniel who has participated in these prayer marches from the beginning..
There have been those who have attempted to jump off that bridge and luckily their plans were thwarted.
Ron Snipes, Police Officer Sgt. William Tiedgenand and Terry Johnson. These are 3 individuals that I can recall offhand who were there to save someone’s life on that bridge.
There are so many factors when an individual decides to take their own lives. People always say that there are warning signs, but that is not always true.
A close-up of the fence on the walkway. *Photos by Joe Bayona
How many times has an individual taken their own life? People who knew them would say they had no clue. Some of those individuals who took their own lives did the same routine they did every single day. Yet no one knew what happened or why that day they decided to end it all. When a person who is young takes their own life, you may question,
“Why didn’t they reach out to their parents, guardian, friends, partner, etc.?”
What people don’t realize is that a person may reach out to someone that is going through a hardship themselves. They might not even realize what’s going on with you.
There are so many factors, but the hardest pill to swallow is that you, the survivors may continuously beat yourselves up.
Sometimes individuals act in the heat of the moment and may not even realize at the time what they are about to do. My heart breaks for those two innocent helpless babies who were tossed off the bridge. They had no choice.
There are not always tell-tale signs of people who are distressed. Sometimes those we think of as a rock may be the ones who need the most support. The human mind is so complex that it is difficult to detect what’s going on. Whatever the reason is, only they know why they felt this was the only choice they had. C.M.
