Panel Holds Discussion on the Impact of Suicide in our Community

FARGO, N.D. — Every 28 seconds someone attempts to take their one life. Specifically in this state…

“For youth in North Dakota the numbers are actually quite a bit above the national average,” Monica McConkey, the Prairie St. John’s Director of Business Development said.

To help lower those numbers, AM 1000 “The Flag” and Prairie St. John’s is holding a panel in Fargo to break the silence on the topic.

“We wanted to bring people in the community together to have an open discussion about not just suicide prevention, not just suicide awareness, but actually telling the stories around the impact of suicide on family members, the impact on law enforcement when they’re responding to either a completed suicide or someone who has attempted suicide,” McConkey said.

For panelist Kate Naumann Moe, she’s hoping to guide others who are coping with feelings she’s all too familiar with.

“I lost my dad about four years ago,”Naumann Moe said. “The initial loss is very frantic. You’re kind of wondering ‘was there something I should have done? Something I should have said? Was it my fault?'”

Naumann Moe, along with the other panelists, are hoping this discussion encourages more conversations about the topic.

“There is a stigma around suicide and the more that you talk about it, the less it becomes a stigma,” Naumann Moe said. “If more people talk about it then we’re hoping that will generate more ideas, more perspectives and hopefully one day more solutions.”

The panelists hope this discussion changes the way people think and respond to suicide. The event was free and open to the public.