OLD LYME — September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
On Monday Sept. 29, at 6:30 p.m. in Old Lyme Town Hall, LYSB and the Lyme-Old Lyme Prevention Coaliton will host a free Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention training workshop. Anyone may attend.
Did you know that suicide is preventable? By combining knowledge, care, and compassion, people can make a real impact on those who are experiencing a crisis. Suicide is complex and influenced by many interconnected factors, but knowing the warning signs of suicide saves lives. With the right support, people can heal, build resilience, and thrive after crisis.
For those who are in crisis, asking the right questions, offering hope and support, and referring them to the right resources can promote healing. By being trained in QPR, you will have the right tools to give someone the support they might need. Anyone can be trained in QPR, and consequently anyone can save a life in need.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a crisis, call the national crisis line 988 to speak, chat, or text with a trained crisis counselor.
OLD LYME—The Old Lyme Land Trust, the Old Lyme Open Space Commission and the Old Lyme Inn are sponsoring another “Hiker’s Happy Hour” on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
A guided walk will leave at 4:15 p.m. from the Mile Creek Preserve trailhead at 191 Mile Creek Road. All are welcome.
After the hike, people will re-group at the nearby Old Lyme Inn for half-price drinks from 5 to 6 p.m. You need not hike to enjoy the Happy Hour.
Hikers should wear comfortable walking shoes and bring insect repellent.
In the event of rain, meet at the Old Lyme Inn for Happy Hour instead of the trailhead.Information on the Bartholomew Open Space can be found here.
On Sunday, Sept. 28, horticulturalist Tom Christopher presents “Building Resilient Landscapes – Right Plant, Right Place for Right Now” at Lyme Public Hall. Photo by Wendolyn Hill.
LYME — Lyme Pollinator Pathway, Pollinator Pathway East Lyme and Pollinate Old Lyme are cosponsoring a presentation titled, “Building Resilient Landscapes – Right Plant, Right Place for Right Now” on Sunday, Sept. 28, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Lyme Public Hall, 249 Hamburg Road in Lyme.
The presenter will be horticulturalist Tom Christopher, who will present strategies for choosing plants to prioritize biodiversity, soil health, and water management in your yards, thereby creating habitats that can easily withstand challenges like extreme weather conditions and invasive species.
Christopher is host of the podcast “Growing Greener,” as well as an author/collaborator for several books and columns about improving the environment with native plant restoration.
This program is funded by a grant from the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Coordinating Committee.
All are welcome. There is no change for admission.
Resident State Trooper Matt Weber and comfort dog, Viera, will be transferring to Connecticut State Police headquarters to support the agency’s peer support program. File photo.
OLD LYME–The resident state trooper in charge of the Old Lyme Police Department for the past five years will be leaving early next month to lead the Connecticut State Police peer support program.
Connecticut State Police Resident State Trooper Matt Weber on Friday said word came through the day before that he’ll be transferring Oct. 3 to the Middletown headquarters as the coordinator of the State Troopers Offering Peer Support (STOPS) program.
He said the state police will assign a temporary resident trooper to cover the town while the agency goes through the process of finding a permanent replacement.
Webe currently oversees five Old Lyme constables with full police powers. The resident trooper program provides leadership in more than 50 towns across the state without independent police departments.
Weber, who lives in town, described the move as bittersweet.
“Definitely, it’s a town I love, so hopefully I left it a little bit better than I found it,” he said.
First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker on Friday said Weber’s presence has led to a stronger summer ranger program, which places seasonal staff under the police department’s direction to patrol public beaches. She said the resident trooper has also helped curb fights and illegal activity at Sound View Beach.
Resident State Trooper Matt Weber. File photo contributed by Connecticut State Police.
Shoemaker credited Weber with focusing on hiring new officers rather than exclusively making lateral hires from other departments.
“His unique approach to build our staff by training officers at the Connecticut Police Academy has allowed us to hire individuals who have always wanted to be police officers and are now serving our town to the best of their ability,” she said.
Among them are Officer Ethan Kula, a former summer ranger in Old Lyme who was hired in 2022 at the age of 24. Most recently, Patrolman George Sirigos graduated the academy in January as a 31 year old.
Before Kula, Corporal Dominic Solari was the last Old Lyme officer to go through the academy in 2006.
Shoemaker said she has not been given a timetable for securing Weber’s permanent replacment. She also has not been told what the town’s role will be in the selection process, though she hopes to sit in on hiring interviews.
She said staff members at the police department and town hall will miss Weber greatly in his professional capacity. But she acknowledged the town resident isn’t going anywhere.
“We’re still going to see him in Big Y,” she said.
Weber will bring 17 years of experience as a state trooper when he takes over the peer support program from state police Sgt. Rodney Valdes.
Weber said he looks forward to the opportunity to help other troopers, “just for the mental well-being of them.”
He declined to further discuss his time in Old Lyme or his new role, citing the advice of the state police public information officer.
The state police STOPS program provides peer counseling for troopers and other first responders in personal or professional crises, according to state police. The specially-trained network of troopers also helps during non-crisis situations amid the daily stresses of working for the state police.
OLD LYME–Two state troopers recognized for helping a distressed woman off the side of the Baldwin Bridge in 2023 joined a group of suicide awareness advocates on Friday to commemorate the installation of new signs reminding everyone that help is out there.
The four plain blue signs, installed on Old Lyme and Old Saybrook ends of the sidewalk along the bridge’s southbound span, direct those who have lost hope to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau Director Mary Seidner during a ceremony on the Baldwin Bridge trail credited Sergeants Ashley Harkins and Matthew Belz with inspiring her to get the signs installed. A group of local, regional and state leaders made it happen.
Belz and Harkins on Friday morning recalled for reporters the day over a year and a half ago when they found the woman perched atop a 5-inch ledge on the river side of a tall metal fence. Several 911 calls had alerted police to the despondent woman.
“I made the connection with her,” Belz said, describing his position on the sidewalk as Harkins navigated the grooves of metal mesh in uniform boots to get herself up and over the fence to the woman’s side.
Harkins remembered having difficulty at first scaling the fence in her uniform and thick boots.
“Then I kind of took a quick second and reevaluated it, and I was like, ‘OK, this is what we’re doing. I’m doing this,’” she said. “And then I just did it.”
For Harkins and Belz, helping people at risk of suicide is first and foremost about connection.
“Showing that you care is a big step,” Belz said.
State police shared the emotional and harrowing body camera footage shortly after the incident to call attention to the troopers’ quick, decisive actions. Harkins could be seen on the narrow shelf, one or two hands gripping the fence at all times, while she kept the woman close to the fence with her body.
The sergeants coaxed the woman onto Harkins’ bent legs so troopers on the other side could pull her to safety. She was taken by ambulance for treatment, according to state police.
Friday’s ceremony included a presentation by State Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme, of a citation from the state legislature to the troopers for “heroic actions saving a life in crisis.” The recognition was introduced in Hartford by Carney and State Sens. Martha Marx, D-New London, and Norm Needleman, D-Essex.
“You saved a life. You saved a family’s heartache,” he said. “You gave someone an opportunity for the future.”
Sergeants Ashley Harkins and Matthew Belz were honored Friday for helping a distressed woman off the side of the Baldwin Bridge in 2023, an action credited with inspiring the placement of suicide prevention signs on the span.
Seidner told the audience of roughly 50 people that she started researching signs after she heard about the rescue. That’s when she engaged Old Saybrook Youth and Family Services Director Heather McNeil in the process.
“I know some [bridges] have signs, but ours did not,” she said.
Southeast Regional Action Council (SERAC) Director Mark Irons said the effort in technical terms comes down to “lethal means prevention.”
“What can we do when someone’s choice leads them to potentially making a lethal decision? In the case of high places and bridges, we have the opportunity to use signage,” he said.
The signs were funded with SERAC dollars through the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and manufactured by incarcerated individuals in the state correction system.
“There’s a notion that a crisis can be momentary, and we’re looking for some small breaks or opportunities to intervene,” Irons said. “In the case of seeing a sign, the message of hope and support can really make a difference.”
He said the signs can, and have, made a difference for people who stop to call or text the hotline number to find someone on the other side.
“Connection is prevention,” he said. “And that’s what’s happening here.”
Danielle Amaral, a facilitator with Eastern Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board, pointed to statistics showing 49,000 people die by suicide every year, or one every 11 minutes.
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 356 people in Connecticut died by suicide in 2023, marking one of the lowest suicide rates in the country.
“In Connecticut, we’re talking about it more,” Amaral said. “And that’s what it takes … talking about it.”
Ann Dagle addresses a crowd of roughly 50 people at a ceremony to commemorate new suicide prevention awareness signs on the Baldwin Bridge. Looking on are Old Saybrook Youth and Family Services Director Heather McNeil (left) and Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau Director Mary Seidner.
Ann Dagle, a grief counselor and founder of the Brian’s Healing Hearts center in East Lyme, said September is a difficult and immersive time for many prevention advocates. Her work during Suicide Awareness Month is consumed with presentations, training sessions and outreach for 30 days straight.
Dagle’s son, Brian, died by suicide in 2011 while in his sophomore year of college.
“It’s challenging to work in this space all the time, but days like this give us hope,” she said. “They give us hope that we can make a difference. They give us hope that we can save lives.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or text “HELLO” to 741741 for free, confidential support at any time.
