Festival of Hope Starts Saturday

Tulare - Using music and art to attract people of all ages, Festival of Hope will attempt this weekend to create more awareness about suicide and help reduce the stigma of seeking help.

The two-day event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at Preferred Outlets at Tulare, 1407 Retherford St.
The festival will feature a number of events, including:

• Street painting workshops led by three professional chalk artists, which will begin at 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday, at the Galaxy Theatre and later move outside for participants to get hand-on experience.

• Children's chalk drawing starting at 10 a.m. both days at the main fountain in the heart of the outlet center. There is no charge for participation. Adults must accompany children at all times.

• Showings at 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. both days at the Galaxy of the Academy Award-winning short film “Trevor,” which is about a young gay adolescent struggling with bullies and socially isolation, which leads him to contemplate suicide. Admission is free.

• Showings of “The Shaken Tree” at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. both days. This is a documentary on mental illness and suicide. Admission is free.

• A series of outdoor Sound N Vision Foundation concerts that will start at 3 p.m. and run to closing time each day. Admission is free.

The Suicide Prevention Task Force held a Community of Hope Conference in Visalia in May that drew 700 people, including not only health professionals but members of the general public who wanted to learn more about suicide prevention, said Cheryl Lennon-Armas, executive director of Tulare Youth Service Bureau and task force leader.

“Again with the festival we're targeting all people,” Lennon-Armas said. “We want to reach out to all generations of the community.”

Tulare County reported about 40 suicides in 2009 and by July 31 already had recorded 30.

“That's a public health issue as far as I'm concerned,” Lennon-Armas said. “That's 30 people who had a depression or mental health issue who are lost.”

Of the 40 deaths reported in 2009, all but three were men, which Lennon-Armas said is not unusual.

“Women attempt suicide more often; men chose more lethal means,” she said, adding that some studies are showing a change in that pattern.”

At the May conference in Visalia, more than 200 people attended a workshop on suicide within the agricultural community.

“What that tells us is there's an interest and there's not a lot of information about that,” she said.

A session on teen suicide also was very well attended.

“Our numbers are lower than you would anticipate…I think we do a good job but even one is too many,” Lennon-Armas said.

More attention is also being given locally to new mothers, because suicide is the second leading cause of death for this group, she said.

Funding through Proposition 63 has allowed for the screening of all new mothers and clinicians throughout the county are receiving training for this, she said.

The task force recently sent a representative to a Tulare Association of Churches meeting in an effort to engage the faith-based community in the on-going attempts to prevent suicides.

“Many times they [people who are suicidal] might talk to their pastor or someone in their congregation,” Lennon-Armas said.

One of the messages the prevention community is trying to get across to people is that they have to become comfortable asking a person if they are thinking of suicide.
She gave the example of a woman who answered “no” to family members who asked her if she was thinking of “hurting herself,” but then responded “yes” to a sergeant who asked her directly if she was thinking of suicide.

While the topic of suicide is about as serious a subject that you can find, Lennon-Armas said the hope is that people attending the festival also will have a good time in addition to learning more about the issue.

Speaking of fun, the concert schedule is as follows:

Saturday
· 3 p.m. – Indosurf, rock/reggae music.
· 4:30 p.m. – Mezcal, Latin and world music.
· 6 p.m. – Strange Fine, blues rock.
· 7:30 p.m. – Band of Brotherz, root, reggae and rap.
Sunday
· 3 p.m. – Distrito Torre, Latin rock.
· 4:30 p.m.—Fierce Creatures, indie rock.
· 6 p.m. – The Whiskey and the Devil Chaplain, folk, Americana.

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