Suicide is one of the main causes of death within the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered communities. Seattle, Washington has a not-so-secret reputation in the United States for being a city cloaked in depression and suicide (in 2005, Seattle ranked #23 in the country overall and the west coast in general had a higher rate at nearly 12% than the remainder of the country). Seattle is also home to a particularly large LGBTQ community. Coincidence?
One of the most-accessible methods of committing suicide in Seattle is jumping off of the Aurora Bridge (also commonly referred to as the George Washington Memorial Bridge). Committing suicide by leaping off of the Aurora Bridge is so common that there has even been a calculation regarding the amount of time it would take for a person weighing 160lbs to descend: 2.2 seconds. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire pushed to have six emergency telephones and 18 signs posted to prevent suicide in 2006. Since its construction in 1932, roughly 230 people have jumped from the Aurora Bridge to their deaths. This places Seattle's Aurora Bridge second only to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in suicide deaths.
After decades of neglect and overlooking the obvious (the first reported suicide occurred before the Aurora Bridge was even completely constructed), Seattle is claiming responsibility for the safety of its citizens and doing what they can as a collective to save a few lives. They are placing a nearly nine-foot fence on both sides of the bridge in hopes that it will detour suicidal jumpers. Some Seattleites have stated that they do not want the fence at all because it will not prevent suicide and will only obstruct the view from their houses. Others have expressed their concern that the city of Seattle should do something to help - even if it is just a simple fence put into place. Still, other taxpayers do not want to fork up for an "ugly fence" when there are "more important" things to consider. Regardless of opinion, the fence began going up on Monday, May 24, 2010 after months of delay.
Which begs the next question - Do you think a fence can help to prevent suicide? if you or someone you know is suffering from Depression, there is help. Visit https://suicide.com <https://suicide.com/> and recognize the signs before it is too late.
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