Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Because of his own experiences with suicide, Portales resident Jim Lee is trying to spare others from its devastating aftermath.
His father, a World War II veteran, committed suicide at 46, and Lee attempted it as a teen.
“My father’s suicide caused guilt because I wasn’t there to prevent it,” said the Army infantry veteran. “I wondered what signs indicated his depression and what snapped when he put the rifle to his chest. What could have been done and why wasn’t it done?”
To combat teenage suicides, Lee has written a play, “Saying Hello to Goodbye,” which — with the endorsement of the Kiwanis clubs of Clovis and Portales — was performed last November at the Memorial Building in Portales.
There were no empty seats the first night and few the second.
The retired communication professor tried to get the play performed in local schools, but met resistance.
“Without reading it, many educators believed that the play would cause suicides,” Lee said. “Apathy, ignorance and denial are the biggest obstacles to fighting the epidemic of teen suicide. Don’t just talk at your kids; listen to your kids.”
The play is part of a broad-based effort called Project Sunrise, founded by Lee and his wife, Rica, Keith Wilks, former pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Portales, and retired educator Elwyn Hulett — all of whom were involved in producing the play.
“Project Sunrise was created to save the lives of children and adolescents by focusing on youth suicide awareness and prevention,” Lee said. “It opens much-neglected dialogue to recognize the issue of youth suicide and to explore what we can do about it.”
According to Lee, who was a stand-in for Milton Berle and stunt double for Tony Curtis, 800,000 people (one every 40 seconds) commit suicide each year. Each day in the United States there is an average of 5,400 suicide attempts in grades 7-12. In 2014, 1,668 Americans ages 13-18 killed themselves. Girls are more likely to attempt suicide, but boys are more likely to die.
Lee, who has worked in Hollywood as an actor and script writer for stage, films, TV and radio — including nationally syndicated programs — said from 1999-2013 the suicide rates of New Mexicans ages 10-24 were over twice the national rate.
“Responsible adults cannot ignore this heartbreaking epidemic, but where do adults start? Project Sunrise is a growing group of dedicated people determined to do something about youth suicide awareness and prevention,” Lee said.
Lee’s 40-minute play is centered around a group of students who have committed suicide listening to their parents discuss them in a support group.
Here is a sampling of dialogue:
• “Why didn’t you tell us what you needed. I wanted to help. I just didn’t know what to do. Why did you refuse to see how important you are?” — parent
• “Maybe we don’t have job pressures, but we have other pressure. They have no idea what we live with every day of our lives.” — student
• “We both tried so hard to do everything perfectly. We had such a normal family life. We had no idea she could be so troubled.” — parent
All Project Sunrise materials, including the play, are available for free.
For information, contact Lee at 575-562-9699 or:
Contact Wendel Sloan at:
