Latest Report Shows Increase In Suicides By Men

A report recently released by the Bristol County Regional Coalition to Prevent Suicide found that last year there was a 72 percent increase in suicides among middle aged men as compared to 2013.

Rev. David Lima, the leader of the Greater New Bedford Suicide Prevention Coalition, said this appears to be a part of a national trend.

"Over the last half dozen years, especially after the recession, the spike across the nation, the most at risk group, has been middle aged white men," says Lima "it's been attributed to a variety of things, but especially though the recession it's been attributed to a loss of jobs, loss of homes, people that have failed on their mortgages, a loss of identity."

While he does call it a troubling trend, Lima says some progress has been made in New Bedford.

"We've been doing as good a job as we can, we don't think we've done enough, but the one thing i can tell is that while most numbers have increased, new bedford's have actually decreased," says Lima "but that doesn't mean that we've succeeded it just means that we have a lot of work to do and we have to keep that work up."

Lima says more resources will be needed in order to truly address the problem.

"For all of Bristol County, which is 22 communities, four major cities: Attleboro, Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford, only $15,000 is allotted to do any kind of work here," says Lima "$15,000 doesn't pay for a person to be behind a desk trying to coordinate things."

There will be another discussion on this topic Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Holy Family Parish Center at 438 Middleboro Ave. in East Taunton.