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PEEKSKILL – Senators Pete Harckham and James Skoufis, along with suicide prevention advocates and families of victims, have called for means restriction fencing, also known as climb deterrent fencing, to be installed on five area bridges overseen by the New York State Bridge Authority.
“Suicides are preventable if we have the will to expend the resources necessary,” said Harckham. “New York must stop only thinking of the balance sheet and start caring about human costs, individuals and families. The legislation that we are announcing today will require the Bridge Authority to install means restriction climb resistant fencing on all of its five bridges. This legislation will save lives.”
Harckham noted that in recent months, two individuals ended their lives on Bear Mountain Bridge and that four ended their lives in the same spot during the previous year, an increase from the year before that.
“Today, across the U.S., someone will die by suicide every 11 minutes. It is the second-leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 24 years old. So, it is imperative that we safeguard our friends and neighbors at risk,” Harckham said.
Harckham has introduced legislation in the New York State Senate (S.7310) to require the fencing on the NYSBA bridges to curb suicide. The NYSBA operates the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, Mid-Hudson Bridge, Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, and Bear Mountain Bridge.
Skoufis is a main co-sponsor of the bill in the Senate, and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther is introducing the legislation in the State Assembly.
“For individuals with a suicidal impulse, interventions like means restriction fencing can literally mean the difference between life and death,” said Skoufis. “A temporary diversion may be all a struggling friend, neighbor, or family member needs to pull them back from the edge, and we must act to save lives now.”
“Suicide is a true public health crisis,” said Gunther, a registered nurse.
Rocco Battista, a Warwick, resident whose son Daniel took his life in 2008, said, “When people are intent on doing something they are going to find a way. But when you have a means for them to reach out with a last breath of hope, which could be calling a friend or somebody who knows what they’re talking about, that might be enough. Having barriers on the bridges is important, and so is peer support. Suicide does not discriminate; it is you fighting a battle with you…We all have moments. We are human, and we are frail. We need each other.”
NEWS STORY PROVIDED BY: Mid Hudson News -www.midhudsonnews.com