Carman seeks to prevent suicides with program
TROY - Bradford County Coroner Tom Carman said an initiative known as the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program has worked in other areas, and now he's hoping to bring it to Bradford County.
Currently, the coroner's office, located in Troy, is working on getting the program into the school system. He said it would target students in middle school "on up."
Earlier this year, Carman expressed concerns over increasing suicide deaths in Bradford County.
According to a news release from Carman, the amount of successful suicides has increased over the past three years, with 2009 being an all-time high.
This year, he said, there have been four suicides, with the most recent one occurring this March.
In meeting with colleagues from other counties, Carman became aware of the Yellow Ribbon program. He said it's been well received in Indiana County and in the Johnstown area.
Carman said it would provide a series of brochures and handouts to teens in an effort to prevent suicide. "It's a pretty good packet," he said.
According to its Web site, the Yellow Ribbon program was founded in 1994 by the parents of a bright, funny, loving teen, Mike Emme, who took his life when he did not know the words to say, or how to let someone know he was in trouble and needed help.
It notes that he rescued a 1968 Ford Mustang from a field where it had sat neglected. "He bought it, rebuilt it (as he had others) and painted it bright yellow. As Mike and his mustang became more and more known for his mechanical ability and for helping other teens and friends - giving them rides to and from school and work - he became known as 'Mustang Mike.'"
His mom talked with the teens about creating mementos that others could have to remember him with, and she decided that yellow would be used in honor of the cherished yellow mustang, the Web site notes.
It continues:
"On the night before Mike's memorial services, his friends shared their grief and their tears as they pinned ribbons on the cards. Five hundred ribbon cards were placed in a basket and set out at his services. All the ribbon cards were gone at the end of the services."
Three weeks after the young man's service, a phone call came from a teacher in Wyoming, who said a student had given her one of the bright yellow messages of hope when the student was at a time of her own need. The program caught on across the country, and the ribbon became the symbol of the program when the teens began tying them in their hair and pinning to their clothes on the day Emme died.
Teens talked about how they wanted to give the yellow ribbon cards to their best friends in case they would ever be in trouble and needed help, the Web site notes.
Carman said he would also like to involve ambulance companies in the program.
"Together, we'll promote that in the schools," he said. "That's our hope anyway."
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.
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