Third Suicide in Maverick County in 2016 raises red flag of greater social problem of suicides
By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
Maverick County suffered its third victim of suicide during Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19, 2016 when 26 Year Old, Julio Cesar Martinez, hung himself with a rope on a tree in his backyard at this home in Loma Bonita Subdivision in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Family members of Martinez found his lifeless body in the backyard hanging from a tree and immediately called 911 for assistance. By the time the Eagle Pass Fire Department EMS Ambulance and Technicians arrived, Martinez was already deceased and could not be resurrected. A Maverick County Justice of the Peace was summoned and pronounced Martinez dead.
Earlier in May 2016, a 57 year old man committed suicide at his residence on Fox Street in Winchester Heights Subdivision near Graves Elementary. And in April 2016, a young 16 year old C. C. Winn High School died at a San Antonio, Texas hospital from injuries sustained from attempting to commit suicide.
Maverick County is not exempt from the tragic reality that many people become victims of their own demise and tragically take their own life by committing suicide.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal did a research study on the total number of suicides in Maverick County during recent years. To understand the severity of the problem of suicide in Maverick County, one needs to know how many people actually attempt to commit suicide or call 911 for assistance with people wanting to commit suicide.
From 1999 through 2016, Maverick County has had a total of 46 suicide deaths, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal requested open records from the Eagle Pass Fire Department on the number of Ambulance/EMS emergency calls they received and responded to from people attempting to commit suicide or people who committed suicide during the past 24 months, May 2014 to May 2016. A review of the Eagle Pass Fire Department / Emergency Medical Assistance records was conducted, specifically the City of Eagle Pass Suicide / Self Harm Reports.
During the past 24 months, a total of 128 people from our community have attempted to take their own lives, according to the Eagle Pass Fire Department records. This finding is a major finding of a serious social and mental health crisis affecting Maverick County that cannot be ignored any longer.
During the past 24 months, the Eagle Pass Business Journal study found that at least one person per week has attempted to commit suicide in Maverick County, according to the Eagle Pass Fire Department records. Actually, the Eagle Pass Fire Department has received 1.2 attempted suicide or suicide calls per week.
What remains unknown, is how many attempted suicides go unreported to the Eagle Pass Fire Department and local law enforcement authorities as many citizens do not report their family or loved ones attempted suicides for fear of social criticism or embarrassment. Suicide is final. Suicide is a serious problem affecting Eagle Pass and Maverick County. Many people contemplating or attempting suicide have social, mental health, or medical problems which demand help from all sectors of our community. Unfortunately, Maverick County and other similar rural counties in Texas have limited resources or none to help people contemplating or attempting suicide.
Statistical reports show that for every one suicide in the United States at least 25 people attempt to commit suicide through self-harm. Although the City of Eagle Pass Fire Department reports paint a tragic picture of reality concerning the severity of the problem that our community faces and is experiencing, a true picture may never be determined due to the unreported cases of self-harm that go unreported and kept silent by family members or victims.
The City of Eagle Pass Suicide Attempt/ Self Harm reports show that in 2014 there were 43 people who attempted to take their own life with the greatest amount reported during the month of August with 13 suicide attempts reports, seven of those suicide attempts happening within the very same week from August 17 to August 25, 2014.
During 2015, the Eagle Pass Fire Department Suicide/Self-harm reports shows that there were 71 attempted suicides with the month of April (10 suicide attempts) and September (10 suicide attempts) showing the most incidents of all 12 months.
During 2016, their have already been 16 attempted suicides between the months of January to May, the report shows.
In the United States, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death for people of all ages.
Although no complete count is kept of suicide attempts in the Untied States, however, each year the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does gather data from hospitals across the nation on non-fatal injuries from self-harm.
During 2014, 494,169 people visited a hospital for injuries due to self-harm across the nation. Many suicide attempts, however, go unreported or untreated. Surveys suggest that at least one million people in the U.S. each year engage in intentionally inflicted self-harm.
Statistics show that females attempt suicide three times more often than males. As with suicide deaths, rates of attempted suicide vary considerably among demographic groups. While males are four times more likely than females to die by suicide, females attempt suicide three times as often as males. The ratio of suicide attempts to suicide death in youth is estimated to be about 25:1, compared to about 4:1 in the elderly.
Suicide and its consequences often leave many victims and communities and families unable to address the problem due to the lack of adequate resources to implement preventive measures to stop such sad tragedies. Greater mental health resources are needed in the community.
Many experts question if such tragedies are even preventable due to delicate issues which often are hidden by the individual who is dealing with problems within themselves, including un-diagnosed mental stress disorders, depression, suicidal tendencies and social ills that may lead to suicide attempts and violence.
Although it is often hard to determine whether anyone is in the grasp of such tragic decisions, having access to the proper information and help could set into place measures that could save a life.
When people die by suicide, their family and friends often experience shock, anger, guilt, and depression, often creating a chain of events that basically destroys the peace beyond repair.
It is reported that 41,149 people killed themselves in 2013 and over 494,169 people with self-inflicted injuries were treated in U.S. emergency departments as well.
Suicides also have a large financial and economic impact on the American economy. Studies show that an estimated $44.6 billion combined medical and work loss costs are associated with suicides per year in the United States.
In 2013, suicide was the second leading cause of death among persons aged 15-24 years, the second among persons aged 25-34 years, the fourth among person aged 35-54 years, the eighth among persons aged 55-64 years, the seventeenth among persons 65 years and older, and the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States.
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800- 273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).
