“We just need to be listened to,” she said. Traveling all over Pennsylvania to do just that, Governor Tom Wolf’s Suicide Prevention Task Force, comprised of representatives from numerous state agencies, stopped in Slippery Rock for a panel discussion in the Smith Student Center Theatre Friday morning.
The Wolf Administration formed the statewide task force in May, hoping to combat a growing suicide rate in Pennsylvania.
One member of the audience admitted she had several well-thought-out suicide plans, saying that there is a problem with the freedom to own a gun.
The same speaker disagreed with the term of depression being described as “behavioral health.”
Patrick Kimmel, a former teacher now with the Western Pennsylvania American Foundation, spoke his purpose in trying to change legislation.
“The bills get introduced, then they go to committee to die,“ Kimmel said. “That’s the unfortunate truth [...] There are so many hoops to jump through.”
Kimmel worries that partisanship in Harrisburg is a big part of why such bills don’t make it far.
“Mental health should be treated the same as physical health,“ Kimmel said.
This task force is in the process of developing a four-year suicide prevention plan, fighting the stigma associates with suicide, suicide attempts, and mental health services.
Kimmel speaks to the panel about his personal experience and why he chose to get involved with pushing legislature.
The crowd gets ready for the panel to listen.
The panel listens to first speaker's experiences.