With the number of young lives taken by suicide this year, attention has turned to the ASG Department that’s supposed to provide services for the youth, the Department of Youth and Women Affairs.
A mother posted on FaceBook, “Where does the Department of Youth and Women Affairs stand at right now with all these suicides claiming the lives of our youth?”
She said what is happening with our youth requires an island wide effort to get things back in the right direction.
“We cannot always depend on our families and church to do the job. You the American Samoa Government have an obligation to fulfill to the youth of American Samoa.”
She suggested that the Youth and Women’s Center in Pago Pago be opened 24 hours so the youth have a place to go to and someone to turn to.
She said some kids just need a change of environment and a complete stranger to talk to to make things better.
The mother also suggested that the department create programs for the youth.
We asked the acting DYWA Director Pa’u Roy Ausage for comments but he hasn’t responded.
We sent the mother’s message to the Governor’s Executive Assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira and he said, “I understand the frustration expressed in the email. The American Samoa Government is alarmed with the rise in the number of suicides and it is an issue we cannot turn a blind eye to because it involves the lives of our people similar to what we are doing to protect the lives of our people from the deadly clutches of the Coronavirus. “
He said, “The same intensity of effort must be garnered to ascertain the possible causes of this sad uptick in the number of suicides.”
It was Iulogologo’s understanding the Suicide Task Force was meeting yesterday to address “current efforts to mitigate potential factors contributing to the rise in the number of suicides.”
This is the first time KHJ News has heard of the Suicide Task Force and we have asked for the group’s membership.
Photo: Rev Iasepi Ulu at the candle lighting ceremony for World Suicide Prevention Day September 10th
