DEPRESSION & SUICIDE in OREGON

Some people say, you can only appreciate a situational context by living through it.  Maybe that is why many believe the best people to help others recover from alcoholism, drug use, or depression are those that have lived through the battle and come out the other side with a victory, so as to instruct, and guide others that eventually suffer from a night-of-the-dark-soul.

Perhaps the worst people to help are those without compassion, empathy, or sympathy for another's situation.  Specifically, those without situational context to use as a baseline to help guide others.

Take a quick peek at the chart on this page.  The chart is from the Oregon.gov site.

Notice that in September of 2020, suicides were on the rise in Oregon.  The rates peaked in October of 2020.   I wonder if the Sherriff ever bothered to meet with his deputies and instruct them on the proper use of the Counties Medical/Mental Health Unit in order to proactively prepare for dark times during the Pandemic and Firestorm.  I know the way the Columbia County Deputies treated me was cruel, and unbecoming of Law Enforcement, not to mention un-ethical.  Read about it here.

I can personally tell you this...  based on my state of mind in September of 2020 (thanks to a Pandemic, loss of employment, depression and low blood sugar), I expected more from the Columbia County Sherriff's Department than to show up in WA, steal my property, wake me from a cold sleep, harass the shit out of me, try to provoke me to anger, and then abandon me on the river with no food/water, life vest or medical attention in the middle of a Pandemic and a horrific Firestorm.

I know a few people in St. Helens that lost people to suicide over the years.  In these cases, despair & depression hit critical mass, and hope was lost.

The Columbia County system is broken, and the Sheriff is ultimately responsible for the bad behavior of his officers.

You all deserve better than to live under the umbrella of corruption & abuse.