Suicide victims to be remembered at Butler rally
Many people don’t recognize the signs of mental illness until it’s too late, and Tyrone Smith almost became a victim of suicide.
Smith, 41, of West Sunbury, grew up in and out of foster care and foster homes, causing feelings of depression and helplessness that continued into his adulthood. On Sept. 6, he will share his story of almost dying by suicide at the annual Suicide Awareness Remembrance Rally in Butler.
“Everybody has ideologies about it, it crosses their minds; but I was making plans,” Smith said. “At this point, I was just wanting to raise awareness and explain the conversation that needs to be had. My main goal is to destigmatize the illness.”
The Butler County Suicide Coalition hosts the suicide remembrance rally each September in Butler’s Diamond Park, where people share their stories of how suicide has affected them.
Amy Cirelli, mental health specialist with Butler County Human Services and co-chairwoman of the suicide coalition, said the event is meant to show the impact of suicide on the people its victims leave behind and to start a conversation of prevention. Speakers help spread the personal effects of mental illness, but other aspects of the rally, such as the placing of shoes around the fountain and a kindness board, help demonstrate the community impact.
“It’s for awareness and to remember the people we lost before,” Cirelli said. “We have four speakers who are going to share their own personal stories. We'll have the leaving messages of encouragement again as we did years before.”
Cirelli said suicides in Butler County dropped from a reported 37 in 2021 to 19 in 2022, “which is still too many,” but is a good start. The people who die by suicide are still mostly older males, according to Cirelli.
“Last year, most of the people we lost were over age 50. It's on track with what we usually see,” Cirelli said. “Our statistics tend to fall in line with national statistics, where it's mostly men of middle age.”
Smith said learning about mental conditions helped him identify characteristics in himself that explained his own thoughts and feelings. That helped set him on a path to recovery.
“Once I found out it was a real thing and was educated about it, it lost its power over me,” Smith said. “It gives you a sense of empowerment, just having knowledge in itself. It lets you think in terms of solutions.”
Smith said he plans to not only share his story at the rally, but also encourage people to reach out to others, because anyone could be struggling with suicidal thoughts.
“I'm not highly experienced in how to deal with these things, but I do know what did and didn't work for me,” Smith said. “Unfortunately you often don't recognize the signs until it's too late.
The Suicide Awareness Remembrance Rally begins at 5 p.m. Sept. 6 in Diamond Park. For more information on the event, or the Butler County Suicide Coalition, email youmatterbutler@gmail.com
