Pennsylvania Legion post to host suicide prevention forum

Department of Pennsylvania Legionnaire first organized a suicide prevention forum in Sunbury, Pa., prior to the pandemic because he wanted to bring attention to teen suicides. The deputy commander for children and youth activities in the department’s 17th District and a 30-year Legionnaire went over a list of activities for youth that were provided by or through the Legion.

At the bottom of the list: teen suicide.  

“I said, ‘That ain’t gonna cut it,’” said Bennett, a member of American Legion Post 44 in Northumberland who spent 21 years in the U.S. Army. “At the bottom of the list was teen suicide. For me, that goes directly to the top. And that’s the way it’s been.”

Bennett’s first teen suicide prevention forum took place at American Legion Post 201 in Sunbury. “I still remember a quote we had from someone on the panel,” Bennett said. “That individual said, ‘Well, we go to these things all the time. You’ll be lucky to have four to six people there.’ We had 70 people that night.”

After two suicides took place this year in the area – one a 21-year-old man, the other a high school sophomore – Bennett had heard enough. “I said, ‘We’ve got to do something.’ Here we go.”

A second forum has been scheduled for Nov. 16 at Post 44 and will feature panelists that include first responders, clergy, students and school counselors. And in addition to teen suicide prevention, the forum also will focus on veteran suicides.

“We’ve got to do something,” Bennett said. “Hopefully, we can make a difference. We’ve got to do something to get these (veteran suicide) numbers down, and it has to start somewhere. These folks want help, and we have to be able to show them how to get help.”

Legionnaire Karis Hagen, the deputy commander for women veteran issues in the department’s 17th District, also will be a panelist. “It’s good to raise awareness,” Hagen told The Daily Item. “It’s an ongoing issue for many people. There’s a problem with suicide across society. Mental health issues are a big piece of that. A lot of the time it’s hopelessness about the current situation that can be building over a long time or be sudden. Learning how to listen is part of that piece of helping with that.”