{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Whitley teen remembered at suicide prevention walk &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"oPEURkUdOO\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/whitley-teen-remembered-at-suicide-prevention-walk\/\">Whitley teen remembered at suicide prevention walk<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/whitley-teen-remembered-at-suicide-prevention-walk\/embed\/#?secret=oPEURkUdOO\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Whitley teen remembered at suicide prevention walk&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"oPEURkUdOO\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/4-col-Bethanys-mom-speaks.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"thumbnail_height":330,"description":"Melissa Lawson knows a little something about suicide. Less than two months ago, her 16-year-old daughter, Bethany Faith Lawson, killed herself. \u201cI just want everybody out there to know it is OK to not be OK. It is OK to ask for help,\u201d Melissa Lawson told a crowd of about 150 people gathered a Bill Woods Park in Williamsburg Saturday morning for a one-mile suicide and bullying prevention walk, which was held in her daughter\u2019s honor. \u201cI can tell you right now that suicide does not take care of the problem. It transfers their pain to a lot of other people. Bethany was one person. This pain that we feel \u2013 several people feel it \u2013 we can\u2019t bring her back. There is nothing in this world that I would not have done, no measure that I wouldn\u2019t have went to to help my daughter if I had any idea she needed help. I loved her and I would have done anything.\u201d Melissa Lawson said she wants children to know there are numerous people out there that love them. \u201cIf this ever crosses your mind, please ask for help, please,\u201d Melissa Lawson said. She also encourages parents to sit down and talk to their children, and go beyond asking how their day went. \u201cEvery day we talked about her day and how things had went. I never sat down and said, \u2018Bethany, have you ever thought about suicide,\u2019 or \u2018Bethany, if you ever were to think about suicide, you know you can come to me.\u2019 I never said that to her,\u201d Melissa Lawson said. \u201cWhen I heard about things like this, I felt terrible for that person and that family, but in my mind I thought to myself, \u2018I am so glad I don\u2019t have to deal with that. I am so glad that is not something that will ever effect me.\u2019 Now I am living it. If you ever think about it, please get help. Please ask for help.\u201d Suicide survivor speaks Williamsburg resident Mike Lay, who attempted suicide when he was a teenager, also spoke Saturday. \u201cI have a bullet in my head,\u201d Lay told the crowd. \u201cYou are afraid to go talk to your friends because you are afraid they will make fun of you. You are afraid to talk to your teachers because you are ashamed. You try to hide it more than you try anything.\u201d Lay encouraged people, especially children, to reach out to someone if they are contemplating suicide, and that they can even call him. Lay said that now he realizes how precious life can be. \u201cI am so lucky to be here. God gave me a second chance for some reason. I know what it is for now,\u201d Lay said. \u201cIf you need help, just talk to anybody, a stranger, anything. It is embarrassing. I know kids are thinking, \u2018Hey, I don\u2019t want to talk to this person because I am ashamed.\u2019 Talk about it to a stranger. If one person would have walked up to me and said, \u2018Hey Mike. How are you doing? Can I just talk to you for a second?\u2019 then I wouldn\u2019t have done it.\u201d Lay added that he had two friends, who went to the hospital to see him after he shot himself, which meant the world to him and kept him from trying to kill himself again. \u201cKids hurt so bad. People don\u2019t understand when you are at that point, you don\u2019t know what else to do. Please talk to somebody, a stranger or anybody. Please,\u201d Lay said. Suicide statistics \u201cSuicide affects everyone whether you realize it or not. Most of us have somebody that we know, who has suicided,\u201d noted Cecelia White, emergency services director at Cumberland River Behavioral Health, which is also known as Cumberland River Comprehensive Care. She was one of the speakers at Saturday\u2019s event. White noted several startling statistics regarding suicide, and in particular suicidal thoughts by young people. In Kentucky, there is a death by suicide every 11 hours. For every completed suicide, there are also 25 suicide attempts where the person doesn\u2019t die. Statistics also show that someone, who dies by suicide, affects at least six people. The Youth Behavior Risk Survey shows that 18 percent of middle school students in Kentucky had suicidal thoughts, 10.5 percent of middle school students had a plan for how they were going to kill themselves, and 6 percent attempted suicide. In Kentucky high schools, 15 percent of students had thoughts of suicide, 13 percent had a plan and 8 percent attempted suicide. For people ages 10 \u2013 65, suicide is one of the top 10 causes of death for each age group. Possible warning signs White noted several possible warning signs for people to be on the lookout for in someone if you fear they might be suicidal, but she cautioned this is only a partial list. \u201cPeople that suicide typically talk about it in some way to some body,\u201d White said. A depressed mood can also be a sign someone is considering suicide, but White warns this isn\u2019t always the case. \u201cNot everybody that suicides has a depressed mood. Once they decide to suicide, they sometimes come to a peace,\u201d she said. Other times people will make statements that their family or friends would be better off if they were dead or not around. If someone isolates themselves or has irritability, this can also be a sign they are contemplating suicide. \u201cWith teenagers this is harder to pick up on because teenagers are naturally irritable at times, and naturally isolate from their families at times,\u201d White said. Suicide prevention steps \u201cPrevention of suicide, the first step is to talk about it. The more you talk about it, the more people are going to be willing to talk about it to you,\u201d White said. \u201cThe statistics and all the research shows you cannot make somebody suicidal. You can\u2019t plant ideas in people\u2019s heads.\u201d If you talk to someone about suicide and [&hellip;]"}