Page 28 - Catholic Extension Magazine - Spring 2016

28 IWNorksSofMPerIcyRE
Asad reality on a num- ber of Native American reservations is the high suicide rate there. at is especially true on
the Rosebud Reservation in south central South Dakota. In 2007— at the height of an ongoing suicide epidemic— the number of deaths by suicide on Rosebud was rough- ly 13 times the national average, making it, according to one report, the highest in the world.
To help address this crisis,
St. Francis Mission, a Jesuit minis- try on this Lakota reservation, has started a suicide and crisis hotline. For Geraldine Provencial, its direc- tor, her work has a very strong per- sonal motivation: “What inspires me to work with the suicide and crisis hotline is the experience I have had with suicides in my own immediate family. I lost a sister to suicide, a brother to suicide and my grandson’s mother to suicide, which has resulted in my taking care of my grandson today, who is 11 years old. He is my inspiration.”
Not having had support when she herself had to deal with these suicides, spurs Provencial today to reach out to others on the reserva- tion who are experiencing these di culties.
Provencial said, “To work with this type of program takes courage because there is a lot of sadness that is part of the suicide crisis. e hurt and pain that people are car- rying within themselves does not go away when they take their lives. e pain just gets passed on to us family members, and we feel that for the rest of our lives.”
She relies on her faith to carry her through and help her nd
HEALING DEEP HURT AND PAIN
A ministry of mercy tackles the suicide epidemic on a Lakota reservation
Geraldine Provencial,
director of the suicide and crisis hotline of St. Francis Mission, says her ministry is provid- ing the “last grasp of hope.”
COMFORT THE SORROWFUL