Suicide deaths decline in Marin
Coroner’s office reports big year-over-year drop
Preliminary death totals for 2020 show the number of people who died by suicide last year in Marin declined significantly over the prior year, according to the county coroner’s office.
Chief Deputy Coroner Roger Fielding said the findings in his annual report, due to be published later this month, indicate that 49 people died by suicide last year, compared to 77 in 2019.
Fielding said the decline has come despite a rise of close to 100 in the number of deaths investigated by his office, a division of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. Fielding’s statistics include deaths of both Marin residents and nonMarin residents. His office tracks deaths based on where they occur.
Dr. Jei Africa, director of Marin County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, said part of the coroner’s numbers might reflect a decline in deaths by suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge last year.
“The data shows that 2020 had the lowest number of suicide deaths on the Golden Gate Bridge in the last five-plus years,” Africa said.
He added that a separate county report on deaths by suicide of just Marin residents also shows a decrease over 2019, but by a lesser amount. According to preliminary totals, 31
Marin residents died by suicide in 2020, compared to 46 the year before, he said.
The reports come a little over a year since Marin officials unveiled the first countywide suicide prevention plan. At that time, February 2020, Marin had the highest suicide rate of all counties in the Bay Area and the highest rate among all metropolitan counties in California.
Kara Connors, senior coordinator for the plan, said the pandemic, by forcibly isolating people for a year, might ultimately end up being a healing tool in that it has highlighted the importance of connection in the lives of Marin residents.
“Connectedness is one of our strongest protective factors,” Connors said.
So far this year, the suicide investigations in Marin include two middle school students who died in February. Both cases were referred for investigation to Fielding’s office.
Fielding said he confirmed that one of the cases was suicide, while the other is still under investigation. He declined to release details.
“Any time there is a pediatric death, it is very, very tragic for the community,” Fielding said. “We respect the wish of the families for privacy.”
Jim Hogeboom, superintendent of San Rafael City Schools, said the youth whose cause of
death was determined to be suicide was an eighthgrader at Davidson Middle School.
“The family has given us permission to share that the cause of death was suicide,” Hogeboom said in a community letter. “It is important that, as a community, we continue to de-stigmatize mental health issues so that people will feel comfortable seeking help when they need it.”
Jason Symkowick, executive director of student services for the school district, said “connectedness, community support, compassion, empathy and care” are what are needed now.
“Suicide is not unique to San Rafael or Marin,” he said. “However, we have to rally together — schools, community partners, parents, children — to break the stigma related to mental health and to shine light on available resources.”
Dr. Naveen Kumar, physician-in-chief at Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael, said people need to look at the issue differently.
“Suicide is not an individual problem or a family problem — it is a community issue,” Kumar said. “Everyone should know the warning signs, as it may be a neighbor or a best friend who might be the closest one at the right time to help prevent a tragedy.”
Kaiser has set up a website, findyourwords.org, for youths who are experiencing depression to reach out and have a voice.
The other youth death investigation involved a
student at Mill Valley Middle School on Feb. 24, said Amanda Finlaw, a spokeswoman for Mill Valley School District. She declined to release further details.
“We are respecting the privacy of the family,” she said.
As to the mental health impact of the pandemic on Marin residents, Africa said calls to the county’s mobile crisis response team were up 28% over the prior year.
“MCRT followup calls and visits also increased 89% from the previous year,” Africa said. “We increased the hours of operation during COVID and brought on two additional staff members with a special emphasis on reaching youth.”
Also, in August, the county formed a collaborative of about 60 to 80 suicide loss survivors, suicide attempt survivors and allies. The members meet monthly to discuss what
is happening and what can be done across Marin, Connors said.
“Our collaborative is all about connection and building shared language,” Connors said. “We’re all talking about suicide in the same way — so we don’t marginalize or stigmatize people. We want to make sure we talk about suicide in a way that points people to safety.”
The next meeting of the Marin collaborative will be 2 p.m. April 7. The public can attend online. Registration and meeting access details are available at bit.ly/31IoJiC.
The county is also offering a public workshop on suicide prevention at 6 p.m. April 13 online at bit.ly/2PWEQX6. The public can submit questions in advance at bit.ly/2R6dBKt.
The 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The Marin Behavioral Health Resource Access Line is 888-818-1115.