Skate to live

The skateboarding community in Creston is not one he would typically look to to plan an event and follow through, but they did, former Afton Police Chief John Coulter said.

Last year, when they came to him with a plan to host an event to raise awareness of suicide, he was unsure if they could pull it off in the 30 days they had planned, but they did.

“They’ve come through,” Coulter said. “When they say they’re in it, they’re in it to win.”

Although it rained on the day of the event, the group, which calls itself Skate For Awareness, came together and raised $150 that it then donated to the national suicide hot line.

This year they are planning a second Skate for Awareness event 2 to 8 p.m. Sept. 19. Originally planned to coincide with Creston’s Hot Air Balloon Days, the event is going on as planned even though Balloon Days is canceled.

Suicide and suicide attempts among the skate board community are not rare, Coulter, who serves as secretary treasurer for the group, said.

“They’ve had so many friends commit suicide,” Coulter said. “Even in the last year since we’ve formed several of their friends have committed suicide or attempted suicide.”

“Suicide affects more than just one person,” he said. “It affects large groups of people and it affects people in different ways.”

This year with the forced isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, suicidal ideation rates and mental health issues have risen. The Centers for Disease Control reports that in June twice as many respondents reported having thoughts of suicide in the past 30 days than in the same time period in 2018, nearly 11% of their study group of 5,470 adults.

The study also showed that among young adults, 18- to 24-years-old, 75% reported at least one mental or behavioral health symptoms, such as suicidal thoughts, increased substance use, anxiety and depression.

Skate for Awareness hopes to shed a light on the problem in Creston.

“It came to be last summer after they’d had several friends commit suicide including a couple of mutual friends of my own that were kind of in the core group of skate boarders,” Coulter said. “They wanted to do something.”

Saturday, the group will host a skate boarding event with the same name at McKinley Park. The event is designed to raise both awareness of suicide and money for the cause.

There will be a vendor mart near the bear at McKinley Park with skate boards, clothing and pies available. Due to COVID-19, vendors will be wearing masks and those who shop are also asked to wear masks. Some of the items will be available as a drive-thru for those who do not wish to get out of their cars.

A “jam session” of skate boarding with prizes will be held at the skate park near the swimming pool. Local professionally sponsored skate boarder Dayton Earley will be exhibiting. Out-of-town professional skate boarders have been invited, but as of Wednesday, Coulter was not sure if they will be attending as that was contingent on the group becoming a 501c3.

Skate for Awareness had been looking into becoming a 501c3 nonprofit organization, but Coulter said the expenses were too high.

“It’s over $1,000 just for the federal part of it,” he said.

Since the group is not an official nonprofit, it will donate the proceeds from the Sept. 19 event to the national suicide hot line, the National Alliance for Mental Illness or a combination of both.

Coulter said if enough money is raised, the group might consider putting part of it in an account to continue to work towards nonprofit status.

The public is encouraged to attend.

“Just show up,” Coulter said. “Even if you don’t buy anything, don’t do anything — just show support. That’s important.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, help is available through the national suicide hot line 800-273-8255 or by texting CONNECT to 741741.