Deputy and wife walk for suicide prevention

As a Douglas County deputy sheriff, Bret Hicks, 37, of Ruhenstroth, has seen his share of suicides. But his feelings deepened four years ago when Tim Livingston, a cousin of Bret's wife, Stephanie, 34, killed himself.

"She and her cousin were pretty tight growing up," said Bret Hicks. "When we got married, we did a lot of vacations and weekends together. It was pretty devastating."

The Hickses and six other family members and friends decided to form a team to take part in "Out of the Darkness Overnight," a 20-mile walk to raise funds and awareness for suicide prevention on Saturday and Sunday in San Francisco.

Bret said the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, organizers of the walk, help the survivors as well as the potential victims of suicide. Nationally, someone dies of suicide every 18 minutes, according to the organization's Web site, www.AFSP.org.

"With me, being with the sheriff's office, I see this happen quite often," said Hicks.

He has found that awareness is sometimes the key to preventing suicides. The sheriff's office trains deputies to be members of a Crisis Intervention Team, designed to help during desperate times. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has five or six of these trained deputies.

Recently, deputies from Douglas County visited the Lakes Crossing facility for mental offenders in Reno, where representatives of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill met with them. The deputies also got the opportunity to talk to patients.

"We met people in mental health who are being treated," said Bret.

He explained that sometimes the department's safety procedures are too harsh when dealing with people who are about to commit suicide.

"It's quite shocking to find out how much we don't know," said Bret. "We have certain safety issues. (People contemplating suicide) don't like confrontational situations. We learn how to maintain our procedures while being able to deal with them with more sensitivity."

Stephanie's cousin committed suicide while under a great deal of stress, according to Bret.

"He had just started a trucking business in Sacramento that really took off," Bret said. "Basically, his father said he was doing the work of three guys."

Livingston's wife was the one who initiated going on the walk, but didn't feel ready until this year, according to Stephanie.

"My cousin('s wife) set up the team," said Stephanie. "(The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) was something she came across in the situation. She was not quite ready to go four years ago. We wanted to be there to support her through it."

The Hickses have been building up their stamina to prepare for the walk, recently walking 13 miles.

Out of the Darkness Overnight is a 20-mile walk from dusk to dawn. Another 20-mile walk takes place in Chicago on Aug. 12. Funds raised go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research, education, survivor and awareness programs.

Walkers have to raise at least $1,000 before they can participate. To help or to get more information about the walk, call (888) 644-4805 or go to www.TheOvernight.org.

• Contact reporter Jo Rafferty at jrafferty@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 210.