WHIITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNEiSDAY, MAY 13, 1981, PAGE 13 Centre's aim to prevent suicide By SHARRON ANDERSON Sixty women attempted suicide last year in the Durham Region; for- tunately, only four of them succeeded. Thirty of the eighty one men who tried to kill themselves in the same time period died as a result. These figures, released by the Durham Regional Police, clearly indicate that the men were six times as likely to succeed in their suicide attempts than the women were. This and other puzzling issues associated with suicide should be the focus of public attention during Suicide Prevention Week - from May 18 - 25 - in the Durham Region. It wouldn't be rash to view the Durham Region as a microcrosm of society for Beath campaign chairman TI e Annual Meeting of Durham Region Lung Association was held on Wednesday, May 6 at Adelaide House Y.W.C.A., Oshawa. The 1981/82 Management Committee was formally installed, its members representing Ajax, Bowmanville, Brooklin, Oshawa and Whit- by. Ahce Sheffield was re- elected president, with the following elected as officers or committee chairmen: Bill Eastwood (Oshawa), Dr. Myles Fisher (Oshawa), Shirley Harris (Oshawa), Dr. Scott Henderson (Whit- by), Doreen Swan (Ajax), Gordon Terwillegar (Oshawa), Frank Weaver (Oshawa), Jean Winters (Bowmanville), Donna Worden (Whitby), and Michael Zaver (Oshawa). Walter Beath succeeds Marline Veater as Christ- mas Seal Chairman for the 1981/82 Campaign. In his address, guest speaker Boris Brott (National Christmas Seal Chairman, and Conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra) stressed the vital need for local lung associations to continue ex- panding their fund-raising efforts. Because of this, said Brott, research projects and community programs to combat lung disease are needed as much now as in the tuberculosis era. Durham Region Lung Association raised in excess of $88,000 during the 1980 Christmas Seal Campaign, and provided a wide variety of educational and rehabilitative support ser- vices during its past fiscal year. These included summer camp for asthmatic children, better breathing courses for adults with lung disease, cold weather protection masks, and the distribution of 25,690 pieces of educational material. The association's school smoking and health awareness program visited more than 7,000 junior school children across the region, and its pulmonary function testing program screened over 2,000 mem- bers of the public for the early signs of lung disease. An abnormality rate of between 7 and 8 per cent was reported for those screened in Durham Region. these figures mirror a world-wide trend. Shirley Lavis, director of the Distress Centre of Durham Region is wary of generalizing about the significance of this pattern but does suggest that the dif- ferent ways that men and women handle emotional problems may be a key fac- tor. "Women are more apt to seek help than men are: more women go to doctors - so, when something is wrong, perhaps they have more desire to do something about it. And an unsuc- cessful suicide attempt may be one way." "On the other hand," she explains, "Men are more apt to deny their feelings and bottle them up until they reach a point of absolute desperation." Lavis also points out that "men choose more violent means to kill themselves. A suicidal per- son gets fewer second chances with, for example, a gun than he might with pills." Suicide has been a taboo subject since ancient times, but as more and more people continue to die at their own hands, there is a pressing need to look frankly at this tragic phenomenon. For years it has been public knowledge that suicide is second only to ac- cidents as the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 39. Recen- tly, Statistics Canada has revealed that suicide was the major cause of death for men between the ages of 30 and 34 in 1978. Myths surround suicide and in their pamphlet en- titled "Suicide" the Canadian Mental Health Association separates some of the facts from the fiction. Some of the myths that they debunk are listed below. Popular myths about suicide: suicide happens without warning; people who talk about it, don't do it; once a person is suicidal, he is suicidal forever; suicide is inherited and "runs in a family"; or, all suicidal in- dividuals are mentally ill, and suicide is the act of a psychotic person. People interested in receiving this pamphlet are invited to phone the Distress Centre at 579-1121 or 686-2366 or Mental Hèalth Durham at 728-9931 and leave their name and address. To further increase public knowledge of this topic, there will be a general in- formation night at the Oshawa Public Library on Wednesday, May 20. At 8 u're to drop in e ýý and see our new selection of Canadian-made CERAMICS Picture frames, boxes, bath sets, etc. From $3.95 M.B.M. Publishing & Photography Inc. 131Brock St.N. Whitby 668-6111 1). < - 6. T nes. - fri. ( - . Ife arp s p.m. the 30 minute film "Suicide: It Doesn't Have To Happen" will be shown. Following the movie a panel composed of Dr. David Barker, a family doc- tor, Tom Easthope, a funeral director, Dr. Dominic A. O'Dea, a psychiatrist, and Det. Toley Wozniak of the Durham Regional Police will speak about suicide as it relates to their profession, respond to the film and answer any questions. EDITOR'S NOTE: Ander- son is the public relations of- ficer for the Distress Centre of Durham Region. TYPEWRITERS ADDING MACHINES • CALCULATORS SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS M we haven't helped a customer" PRINTING 218 Harwvo "tsa poor day when. Saving or Borrowing? If you're looking for a better way to save, corne talk to us. We have a number of ways we can help. On the other hand, if you need a loan to buy a new car, or make some improvements on your home, just ask. We can approve a loan usually within 24 hours. Whether you're saving or borrowing, we'd like to say "Can do!" to ail your banking needs. When you succeed ...we succeeL ROYAL BANK Roman Catholic Churches ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST HOLY FAMILY 903 Giffard St. 668-3676 Masses at St. Paul's School M S200 Garrai d Rd. 576-2098 MASSES IMASSES Saturday, 7 p.n. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.M, 10:30 a.m., 12:15 p.mn Sunday, 9 a.m.. 10:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m. "Know that I am with you always; yes to the end of time."