SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – As part of the national "I'm Listening" campaign, KCBS Radio is bringing you stories of mental health struggles and resilience this week from here in the Bay Area. Our final piece takes us to the Golden Gate Bridge and the longstanding effort to prevent suicides by installing a steel net all along the span. It's an effort that is now finally getting into the final stages.
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This is a story about turning tragedy into action to save lives.
However, it's one that can't be told without hearing how each family became part of a club they weren't looking to join involving one of the most iconic structures in the world.
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of main the reasons 10 million people from around the globe visit San Francisco every year. It's used for biking, walking, taking tours and just soaking up the views of the Bay and the city skyline.
It's hard to believe that this majestic bridge is also the source of sorrow for some.
And many of those who have experienced that sorrow have similar stories to tell. Manuel Gamboa lost his 18-year-old son, Kyle, in 2013.
"There were no signs of any mental illness, no signs of this path that he chose to take," he told KCBS Radio.
Dayna Whitmer lost her 20-year-old son, Matthew, in 2007.
“He and his brother were playing video games and I went upstairs to bed. When we woke up, he wasn't there,” she explained. “All of the sudden I just woke up and just sat up and knew everything was wrong… And I firmly believe that what woke me up that morning, was him just calling out to me, 'What the hell did I just do mom?'"
"Everybody that has survived from that bridge, like Kevin Hines, they say they immediately regretted it," she added.
Hines, the survivor Whitmer was referencing, has become a leading voice for suicide prevention and a source of comfort and inspiration for families who have been left behind. Those who have survived suicide attempts have a common theme they've shared with him.
"And the millisecond my hands left that rail, it was an instant regret for my actions and the absolute 100% recognition that I had just made the greatest mistake of my life and it was too late," he told KCBS Radio. “People have recounted in the midst of their attempt that they all had instant regret the moment they thought it was too late, and I believe that is because at the moment they thought it was too late they finally recognized, like I did, that their thoughts didn’t have to become their actions and their thoughts could simply be their thoughts and that’s how I live today."
Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, spokesperson with the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, explained that studies from the 1970s revealed that nine out of 10 people who are stopped from jumping at the Golden Gate Bridge go on to live long and productive lives.
"A study of over 500 people and it was a key point of research that convinced our board to make the decision to build a barrier, because we knew these people weren’t just going to go somewhere else," Cosulich-Schwartz said. "They do get better. And that for the vast majority of people, being stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge would allow them to keep living a long and happy life."
It's the reason Kevin and countless families like the Whitmers and Gamboas along with organizations like the Bridge Rail Foundation spent years advocating for a suicide barrier at the Golden Gate Bridge.
Finally, on June 27, 2014, funding for the net was approved.
“This is an instance of the community around the bridge coming together to do the right thing to take a bold step perhaps ahead of the rest of society,” Cosulich-Schwartz said. "I know the suicide barrier has a proved track record from similar installations on tall buildings and bridges across the U.S. and Europe that virtually eliminates attempts all together.”
And that's why the district is building a replica of the net at a first responder training facility to practice possible rescues. And while the net won't be complete until the end of next year, those who worked so hard for decades to make it happen, feel a sense of comfort.
It’s not just a barrier to save lives either. It's also about breaking down barriers when it comes to mental health, or what Hines deliberately calls "Brain Pain."
“The problem is when someone develops liver, heart or kidney disease or cancer of any of the organs inside the body, what happens? Everybody shows up at the hospital with flowers and teddy bears and cards and passion, love, empathy and care. But who shows up the first time you end up in a psych ward? As someone who’s been in 10 of them, hardly anybody and that's a travesty,” he said. "We need to change that. And this is part of it."
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