Patch Tips: How to Prevent Suicide

The issue has touched many in the Evanston community. Here's some advice on identifying warning signs.

From the pipe bomb explosion in Fitzsimmons Park in September to the Northwestern graduate student’s death on Christmas Day, suicide was a major issue last year in Evanston.  In the wake of these tragedies, residents should be aware of how to identify a suicidal friend or family member. Although there are no statistics regarding suicides specifically in Evanston, according to the Illinois Strategic Plan for Suicide Prevention, more than 1,000 Illinois residents die by suicide each year.  And the adolescent suicide rate is soaring.  In recent years, it has fluctuated between the second and third leading cause of adolescent deaths in Illinois. But suicide can be prevented.  According to Bethany Price, PhD, psychologist, NorthShore University…

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Northwestern Graduate Student's Death Ruled Suicide

Justin Owen found dead in Evanston apartment Christmas Day.

Justin Owen, a first-year graduate student in the Medill School of Journalism and former Marine was found dead in his apartment on Christmas Day in what has been ruled a suicide. The Daily Northwestern reported that Owen graduated cum laude from Marquette University's College of Communications before attending Medill. He was deployed to Iraq during his sophomore year and served as a U.S. Marine Corps corporal from 2007 to 2008. Family members told The Daily Northwestern that they believe post-traumatic stress disorder played a role in Owen's suicide. On his Facebook page, Owen listed two interests: Film and literature. Owen's funeral was held on Dec. 30 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee.

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Man With Gun Causes Closure of Sheridan Road at Evanston Border

The man is in his apartment on the Chicago side of the border and is not considered a threat to others, but traffic is being directed around the area.

Cars are being rerouted around Sheridan road at the Evanston-Chicago border due to a police situation involving a man in a Chicago apartment who has barricaded himself inside with a gun. Chicago police said the man wants to commit suicide, and has been there with the gun since 1:00 a.m. Thursday, according to Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, who was briefed on the situation. Bobkiewicz said they have not heard any reports of traffic problems, mostly due to the light holiday traffic. Evanston Patch will post more details as they become available.

About Town

"Bomb"arded with Copycats

How can we stop them?

Really.  It's coming to this? In my opinion, kids in Evanston are methodically emptying the public schools by scribbling or whispering the word "bomb".  Last week, Nichols Middle School closed for two days following an apparent suicide (via pipe bomb) on the neighboring playground.  So unprecedented was an Evanston school closing, the rush for repeat performances seems to be snowballing. Ah, and it's only the fourth week of the school year.  How do we stop it?  I heard from a few parents whose children attend Haven Middle School, where a phoned-in bomb threat emptied the school this afternoon.  Here's what some of them had to say: A Haven/Kingsley parent said: Already on edge from the Nichols incident and ETHS bomb threat, when my husband …

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Christine Wolf

9:13 am on Saturday, September 25, 2010

Another Haven parent just let me know her thoughts. Here they are: I thought District 65 administrators and Haven teachers did an excellent job responding to this unfortunate event. When they made their decision to evacuate the building, they did so in a well organized manner. Our children were able to describe the process to us, and their stories made it clear that they were safe at all times. …   more ›

Sending Our Kids Out Into The World: Part 2

Part two of a two part blog about the events earlier this week.

On Wednesday, my son Henry was home from school for the second day in a row after the pipe-bomb explosion on Tuesday which left a young man dead and the whole town wondering, "What happened?"  Henry and I went to breakfast after his two younger siblings dragged themselves to school, yelling, "It's so not fair! Why does he get to stay home AGAIN?" We stopped at Gamestop and Blick Art to get a few things for a care package for my nephew who just had surgery. We even hung out on the front porch, talking about everything...and nothing.  It was an extension of yesterday's surreal day.  The dog was driving us crazy, so Henry and I walked him to Larimer Park to play fetch. At one point, I chucked the ball across the field and it landed in a …

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