Suicide prevention a phone call away
A few days ago, we learned the chilling reasons why Thomas Mangiantini killed his wife and two sons before taking his own life in the family's Addison home on Nov. 25.
In a handwritten suicide note found by investigators in his pants pocket, the 48-year-old Mangiantini described his family's dire financial problems, lack of job prospects and dwindling insurance coverage.
He believed murder and suicide were the only solution.
The sad details Daily Herald Staff Writer Christy Gutowski quoted in Mangiantini's 126-word note included: "Depressed more every day. Rock bottom. Can't sleep. Can't eat. Losing weight rapidly. No job future. Who will support the kids? We can't. I won't let them suffer. God help us. I'm in a corner with no way out. I'm sorry."
We've used this space before to shine a spotlight on suicide, and Mangiantini's hopelessness is another reason to do so again.
Our message is simple: When the weight of life's problems become too great to bear, you must talk to someone.
Talk to a trusted friend or a relative. Seek out a member of the clergy. Call a counselor. There are plenty of organizations staffed by trained professionals and volunteers ready to help.
The response is immediate; they are only a phone call away.
Here are some local suicide prevention hotlines:
• McHenry County: McHenry County Crisis Program (800) 892-8900
• Kane County: Suicide Prevention Services (630) 482-9696
• Elgin: Community Crisis Center (847) 697-2380
• DuPage County: DuPage County Health Department, (630) 627-1700
• Aurora: Association for Individual Development (630) 966-9333
• National Suicide Hotlines USA (800) 784-2433, (800) 273-8255
Too often we hear someone's problems were so insurmountable that suicide was the only option.
Last year, we reported on another suburban father, Kevin Finnerty, who killed his wife and one of his three children when he ignited his Arlington Heights house. Barrington High School has seen four students take their own lives in the last two years; St. Charles Unit District 303 lost six students to suicide in the last seven years.
Suicide claimed 33,000 lives in the United States in 2006, the most recent statistics available. Experts believe the number is actually higher because many suicides are recorded as accidents.
There is a completed suicide every 16 minutes.
There is a better solution, and proving that takes only a phone call.