A free public discussion about suicide is scheduled July 11 at the Marina Branch Library Community Room, 190 Seaside Circle in Marina.
“With recent high-profile deaths on the national stage and a number of local incidents, the time is now to speak about something that is often pushed aside,” according to Bonnie Bufkin, vice president of Monterey County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI.
The event, called “Breaking the Silence on Suicide: A Community Discourse for Hope, Resources and Healing,” is co-sponsored by NAMI and Monterey County Free Libraries. Participants in the discussion will include representatives from the county Behavioral Health Department, the Family Services Agency, the Crisis Text Line and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Other panelists will include local mental-health specialists, a suicide survivor and a family member.
The event will provide “hope, education and resources for anyone in need or for anyone simply looking to understand this difficult topic,” Bufkin said.
This is the fifth program in the very popular “Community Matters: Civil Discourse at the Library” series. The series brings together panels of informed and engaged experts to discuss various aspects of topics of current interest. Previous topics in the series included the #MeToo movement, homelessness, gun violence and privacy.
The discussion starts at 6 p.m. and snacks will be provided. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information about the event, contact Joe Livernois at (831) 277-7138 or jlivernois@namimonterey.org
For more information about NAMI Monterey County, see www.namimonterey.org
