Palo Alto PD and City Expresses Community Condolences Following Two Deaths This Weekend

From the City Of Palo Alto:

On behalf of the City, Mayor Karen Holman spoke on the sadness of our community, offering our collective condolences to the victim’s family and friends, and reaffirmed the community’s commitment to youth well being and mental health.

“As students return to school this week, we share in their grief and loss and want all students, parents and families to know that the community remains resolute in our efforts to support building a healthy and safe environment,” said Holman. “We stand ready to support PAUSD, parents and students as we work through this together and support those in distress. Our staff are active leaders within Project Safety Net, and meetings with all the leadership of Project Safety Net will occur immediately to ensure that we are doing all we can to support our youth and teens, and let them know there are many resources available to help them through this difficult time.”

Following the Saturday death of one of our students, a man thought to be in his 50s or 60s apparently committed suicide on the Caltrain tracks.

“We are reaching out to Caltrain to explore any additional enhancements to track and train safety that can deter access to the tracks,” City Manager Keene said.

“This has been a truly sad weekend with two tragedies in our town,” Mayor Holman added.

If you know of someone who is in immediate crisis, whether a teen or adult, the Santa Clara County Suicide and Crisis Hotline is available at 1-855-278-4204 at any time.

Local clinics that will triage and/or see individuals affected by our local losses included:

• Palo Alto Medical Foundation: Palo Alto Medical Foundation - 408-730-4370 in Palo Alto or 650-696-4666 in San Mateo
• Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Clinics: 650-723-7704 for children and teens; and 650-498-9111 for adults.
• El Camino Hospital ASPIRE Intensive Outpatient Programs: 650-940-7000 (Mountain View); 408-866-4021 (Los Gatos). Mills Peninsula Intensive Outpatient Programs: 650-696-4666.

Here are other resources:

• California Youth Crisis Line: 1-800-843-5200; youthcrisisline.org
• Trevor Project Lifeline, specializing in crisis help for LGBTQ youth: 1-866-488-7386
• Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) - Empowering youth in our community to find their way through social-emotional support and by building safe, accepting communities: www.acs-teens.org
• Kara Grief Counseling Services - providing grief support for children, teens, families and adults. Our vision is to see people of all ages compassionately supported on their journey through grief so they can move toward renewed hope and meaning www.kara-grief.org
• EMQ Families First Services has an excellent mobile crisis team who can assess youth at their home or school site throughout Santa Clara County: 877-41-CRISIS (877-412-7474).
• HEARD Alliance, our local consortium to address teen behavioral health issues, has many useful resources: www.HEARDAlliance.org
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: www.afsp.org
• PAUSD website: Health and Wellness Program.
• Finally, ROCK at Gunn is a student-led, faculty-guided peer support group that has helped numerous Palo Alto teens get through tough times, using personal narratives of hope, help and strength.ROCKatGunn.

And from the Palo Alto Police Department:

We wanted to take a minute tonight to let you know that we are grieving alongside you in light of the recent suicides.

Please know that we stand ready to help in any way we can. While there are many community resources available, you can also always call us, 24/7…whether you’re a student, a parent, or any other member of our community. If it’s an emergency, call 9-1-1. Otherwise, call us in our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413.

Every life is valuable. Your life is valuable. You are not alone. Collectively, we can make things better. We’re all in this together.

An outstanding resource, also available 24/7, is the Santa Clara County Suicide and Crisis Hotline. You can reach them toll-free at 855-278-4204. For more information on their services, see the Santa Clara County Mental Health Department’s website at http://www.sccgov.org/sites/mhd/Resources/SP/Pages/default.aspx. For a list of other available resources, visit http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=2982&TargetID=268