Wilton Charles, 19, of Toksook Bay, drums as advocates from the Alaska chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention perform a prayer dance at a candlelight vigil on the steps of the Capitol to raise awareness on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. The event was hosted by the AFSP Alaska Chapter, the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Council. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Wilton Charles, 19, of Toksook Bay, drums as advocates from the Alaska chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention perform a prayer dance at a candlelight vigil on the steps of the Capitol to raise awareness on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. The event was hosted by the AFSP Alaska Chapter, the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Council. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Vigil remembers those lost, calls attention to suicide prevention

Legislators, advocates share stories, wisdom

Every time she hears that someone in the community died by suicide, Juneau resident Kristina Jager thinks the same thing: Do I know them?

She’s starting to understand that it doesn’t matter.

“We are connected to everyone in this town,” Jager said. “If one person takes their life, it has a ripple effect that reaches every person.”

She said that just a couple hours before Tuesday’s vigil, she had gone through that same line of thinking when she heard that a Juneau man died after jumping from the Douglas Bridge.

Jager was one of a dozen people who spoke on the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday night during the We Remember Them Night of Remembrance, organized by the Alaska chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition. One of the main themes, as Jager shared, was that everybody is affected by suicide whether they know it or not.

Backed by Alaska legislators, James Biela, lead field advocate the Alaska Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, speaks at a candlelight vigil to raise awareness at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Backed by Alaska legislators, James Biela, lead field advocate the Alaska Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, speaks at a candlelight vigil to raise awareness at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

James Biela, the lead field advocate for the Alaska chapter of AFSP, had spoken earlier in the day to gathered legislators and Capitol staff about suicide prevention and awareness, and moderated Tuesday night’s vigil.

[Movie night moves suicide into public focus]

Speakers Tuesday included five legislators, Biela, survivors who had lost friends and family to suicide, a representative for Alaska’s U.S. senators and other advocates. Around 100 people were in attendance as the wind whipped past the Capitol, including all three of Juneau’s lawmakers. Attendees held battery-operated candles, nodded along with speakers’ talking points, wiped away tears at some points and hugged each other on occasion.

Both at his talk during the day and at the vigil, Biela shared frightening statistics about the prevalence of suicide in Alaska. The state has the second-highest suicide rate of any state, multiple speakers said. An Alaskan dies by suicide every 44 hours, versus 48 from 2016, and it’s now the fifth leading cause of death in the state, Biela detailed earlier in the day.

Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, talked briefly about losing her brother to suicide. Tarr is the sponsor of House Bill 22, which would extend the termination date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council (SSPC) to 2027. On the Senate side, Sen. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, brought forth Senate Bill 10, which also seeks to extend the council’s existence.

[Suicide prevention bill gains bipartisan support in the Senate]

Tarr only spoke for a couple minutes, but asked those in attendance to hug or high-five or even just say hello to the people standing next to them.

“Let’s create that space of goodness,” Tarr said as people embraced, “because it’s in the goodness that we keep each other close and remember the love that we feel all around us.”

Rep. Sharon Jackson, R-Eagle River, expressed similar sentiments. She implored people to interact with their neighbors and long-lost friends in a more meaningful way than just a text or an email. She echoed what Biela said to people in the Capitol during the day, that a major way to eliminate stigma around suicide is to talk about it. As Jackson said, “silence is not an option.”

Two hundred bags with electric candles decorate a candlelight vigil on the steps of the Capitol to raise awareness for suicide prevention on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. The decorated bags represent the 200 suicide death in Alaska in 2017. The event was hosted by the AFSP Alaska Chapter, the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Council. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Two hundred bags with electric candles decorate a candlelight vigil on the steps of the Capitol to raise awareness for suicide prevention on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. The decorated bags represent the 200 suicide death in Alaska in 2017. The event was hosted by the AFSP Alaska Chapter, the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Council. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Ethan Therchik, an 18-year-old from Toksook Bay, spoke about losing three of his closest friends and family members to suicide in a span of less than two years. It took time before he could process the tragedies and realize he wasn’t to blame, he said.

“You’ll start saying, ‘I wish,’ ‘I should have,’ ‘Why didn’t I,’” Therchik said. “Those words are what I started saying to myself. I blamed myself for so long.”

Barbara Franks, chairperson of the SSPC, said her son died by suicide in 1996, long before there were suicide hotlines or websites with resources to help people through tragedy. Over the years, like Therchik, she’s learned how to process her pain and help others.

She said people don’t need to have all the answers for a family member or friend who’s experiencing suicidal thoughts. They just need to pay attention and listen, she said.

“You don’t need to know what to say,” Franks said. “As long as I know you’re in arm’s reach, and will pick me up when I fall, I’ll be OK.”

Editor’s Note: Suicide is a serious topic. If you’re in trouble and need help, please talk to someone. If you don’t think you can talk to someone in person, call the Alaska CARELINE at 1-877-266-HELP, or visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the Alaska Community Mental Health Centers, or juneausuicideprevention.org.

Juneau residents listen to James Biela, lead field advocate the Alaska Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, as he speaks at a candlelight vigil to raise awareness at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Juneau residents listen to James Biela, lead field advocate the Alaska Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, as he speaks at a candlelight vigil to raise awareness at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)


• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.


More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for the Week of May 28

Here’s what to expect this week.

The Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding area is seen under an overcast sky on May 12. A federal order published Friday bans mineral extraction activities such as mining in an expanded area of land surrounding the glacier for the next 20 years. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Feds expand ban on mineral extraction near Mendenhall Glacier

20-year prohibition on mining, oil drilling applies to newly exposed land as ice continues retreat

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Thursday, June 1, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Bulk food in Food Bank of Alaska’s Anchorage warehouse on April 21. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
State roughly halves the number of Alaskans waiting on food aid, but more than 8,000 remain

By Claire Stremple, Alaska Beacon Mary Wood has been waiting for food… Continue reading

A white butterfly rests upon a fern Saturday at Prince of Wales Island. (Courtesy Photo / Marti Crutcher)
Wild Shots

Reader-submitted photos of Mother Nature in Southeast Alaska.

Photos by Lee House / Sitka Conservation Society
Aliyah Merculief focuses on her run while snowboarding at Snow Camp.
Resilient Peoples & Place: Bringing up a new generation of Indigenous snow shredders

“Yak’éi i yaada xwalgeiní” (“it is good to see your face”) reads… Continue reading

A polar bear feeds near a pile of whale bones north of Utqiaġvik. (Courtesy Photo /Ned Rozell)
Alaska Science Forum: Polar bears of the past survived warmth

In a recent paper, scientists wrote that a small population of polar… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, May 31, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Writer Jane Hale smiles for a photo as the wind blows a newly raised LGBTQ+ flag at the Hurff A. Saunders Federal Building downtown. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Faces of Pride: Jane Hale

This is the first story in a four-part series spotlighting Pride Month in Juneau.

Most Read