RIVERSIDE (CNS) - An anti-suicide campaign scheduled today (Monday) outside
Riverside City Hall will feature a former California Highway Patrol officer who
was assigned to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and renowned for
talking people out of taking their own lives.
Retired CHP Officer Kevin Briggs will join Riverside County Supervisor
Chuck Washington and other officials for the nonprofit Active Minds' ``Send
Silence Packing'' event, which run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Briggs, known as the ``guardian of the bridge,'' prevented multiple
suicide attempts during his tenure. He will share details of his experiences
and how he became more aware of mental health problems and what resources are
available to help would-be suicide victims, according to organizers.
Nearly 1,500 people have leapt to their deaths from the Golden Gate
Bridge since it opened in 1937, according to published reports.
Last year, the city of San Francisco initiated a project to create an
anti-suicide net on each side of the roughly 2-mile span. The net, which will
catch jumpers a few feet below the sidewalk that runs the length of the bridge,
is slated for completion in 2021.
Riverside University Health System representatives today will have
booths and mental health specialists on the Main Street pedestrian mall to
distribute information and answer questions.
Send Silence Packing events are usually held on high school and
college campuses, where over 1,000 backpacks are strewn on the grounds,
representing the number of suicides that claim the lives of juveniles and young
adults each year.
More information is available at
https://www.rcdmh.org/Portals/0/PDF/PEI/ssp.pdf?ver=2019-03-20-115137-050.