Is The Environment to Blame for Suicides?

Every day without Heather is painful. Heather was a really hard worker. She worked in a group home, she babysat, she attended classes at the local college, she helped friends, so many different aspects to her life. One thing I do know is that Heather worked hard to make ends meet. Car loan, insurance, school expenses, gas, car repairs, cell phone, etc, etc, etc. She was not alone. I also know that working with people in any healthcare field, well, the pay is not the best. If she was earning a decent minimum wage, this might have made things easier for her and added that much less stress for her.

If we had kept up with the minimum wage, it would be about $21 an hour now. That would have made life a little more bearable for the many others that were like Heather, that were struggling to make ends meet. Many people, from all different walks of life, choose suicide because they just can't see a way to make ends meet. What a difference this wage would make in so many lives. I don't want to make this a political post, but let me say this. While I do think some people should earn substantially more than others, I also feel that people should not have to work 2 jobs to cover their expenses.

I don't think that anyone that is working full-time should be made to feel less than worthy. People complain that too many are getting money for nothing. Well, start paying people a decent living wage to work and more people will be able to live the American dream. More people will see a future where many don't see a future today. As many would see a possibility of owning their own home, instead of seeing many others losing their homes, that too will help decrease some of the suicides that we see.

Remember, there are many different reasons that a person chooses suicide. Sometimes it's a chemical imbalance, sometimes it's genetic, sometimes it's environmental. Environmental can sometimes be physical, sometimes it's emotional, and sometimes it's psychological. Most times, it's a combination of multiple reasons. While I wish we could put an end to all suicides, I think we owe it to the future of our world to do everything in our power to stop spreading mental illness. Let's work together and let's build a better world.