Catching the California Wave

A couple times a week an elderly man sits by the train tracks with suicide prevention signs and pictures of a young boy. Today I decided to go talk with him. He offered me a chair and we spoke for some time. His son committed suicide in 1986. I asked him what he felt would have really made a difference in his son’s life. He said that having a mentor would have made a tremendous difference. He said that he was “just a number” to too many.

He said that sometimes it’s just a simple act of showing someone that you care that can turn a life around. He said that this spot by the track once had a suicide per month on average, sometimes more. Since he has been here offering someone to speak to, there has not been one suicide.

He gave me some ideas to develop programs to help youth at risk, which I think that I will explore.

This man is still heartbroken 35 years later, but has found renewed purpose in saving the lives of others.

EDITED:

Shortly after writing this post, the man stopped his weekly or bi-weekly visits to the tracks. I was waiting for weeks to see if he returned, but he never did. If anyone knows what happened to him, please let me know. From our conversation, it didn’t appear that he had planned on stopping anytime soon.