Not surprisingly, beginning in 2009 and every year since, the suicide rate in Winnebago County has been higher than the nation as a whole. In 2014, the suicide rate in our home county hit 17 per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n In the social media era, the population that has seen the highest increase is 15- to 24-year-olds. In the days before Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, at least the stress of being bullied at school or getting into a dispute would end with the final bell. Now, those issues follow you on your phone or personal computer.<\/p>\n Kevin Polky<\/a>, a licensed clinical social worker and founder of kp Counseling<\/a> in Rockford, has been called into school districts several times the past few years to help staff and students recover from the sudden loss of a student through suicide. It\u2019s a job he would like to do far less so\u00a0he formed a nonprofit group called Shatter Our Silence<\/a> to change the conversation about suicide and to eliminate the stigma surrounding it. Polky has developed a curriculum to teach teachers, parents, coaches, mentors \u2013 really anyone connected to children and young adults \u2013 how to identify the warning signs of depression and suicide and what to do when they spot those signs.<\/p>\n In Rockford, this Thursday Gateway Performing Arts Studio<\/a> is putting on a one-night only performance of Next To Normal<\/em><\/a> at Rockford Thinker Ventures is proud to be helping Polky and Shatter Our Silence and urge everyone in their community \u2013 including the business community – to get involved both here and wherever you are based.<\/p>\n Thursday night begins with a reception at 5 p.m. in the Maddox Theater lobby. The show beings at 6 p.m. The costs are $15 per ticket with all proceeds going to Shatter Our Silence. You can order tickets online at www.ticketor.com\/gatewayperformingartsstudio<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The national statistics on suicide are alarming \u2013 and getting…<\/p>\n![\"next-to-normal\"](\"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Next-to-Normal-300x150.jpg\")
Thinker Ventures is based in Rockford, Ill., a strong manufacturing town that has been hit hard by globalization and automation. In the Great Recession, when the national unemployment rate jumped to 10 percent in October 2009, in Rockford it soared all the way to 17.8 percent in July<\/a> of that year.<\/p>\n
\nUniversity\u2019s Maddox Theater<\/a> as a fundraiser for Shatter Our Silence. Next to Normal<\/em> is a rock musical about a family with a mother struggling with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and suicidal thoughts. After the play, Polky and the cast members will talk to the audience about depression and suicide and what we can do to stem the rising tide.<\/p>\n