Crisis Center attends Suicide Prevention Bench Reveal in SSF

On September 6th, Program Managers Allie Rogge and Taylor Coutts had the pleasure of attending the exciting unveiling of a yellow Suicide Prevention bench in South San Francisco, at 700 Linden Ave. A second bench was also installed at 550 N Canal Street.

StarVista staff attending the bench reveal and proclamation.

The bench being unveiled by SSF City staff and StarVista staff.

SSF Mayor, Councilmembers, and staff who supported the bench project.

These yellow benches are part of the non-profit created by parents of 21-year-old Josh Nadelbach, who took his life in May 2018, after suffering from depression. Josh’s mother, Cindy Nadelbach, created the benches project to raise awareness and prevent anyone from having to go through such a tragic loss. These yellow benches have been installed in many places around the country, but this is the first location on the West Coast.

The bench includes the StarVista Crisis Hotline, as well as the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Mayor Mark Nagales, Councilmember Eddie Flores, StarVista CEO Sara Mitchell, and StarVista CWCRT Clinician for SSF Mika Celli all spoke at the unveiling, highlighting the importance of suicide prevention. Mika Celli especially spoke to the small change we can all make in our language to destigmatize suicide: removing the word “commit,” as that denotes connotations of a crime or sin. Instead, use the words '“died by suicide,” or “wanting to kill themselves.”

Other ways we can support those we love struggling with mental health and suicide is to make sure they have access to community resources like the StarVista Crisis Hotline (650-570-0350), Youth SOS, and counseling services like the StarVista Counseling Center and OneLife Counseling in San Mateo County.