Three young heroes have saved a man’s life by preventing him from committing suicide. The three boys aged 12 to 14 were waking home from St Mary’s High School in Chestnut, Hertfordshire, England when they came across a man in distress sitting on an overpass with a rope around his neck.
Initially the boys Devonte Cafferkey, 13, Sammy Farah, 14, and Shawn Young, 12, attempted to engage the man in quiet conversation. Then without further warning the man attempted to turn and through himself off the bridge – it was then that the lads grabbed him, held onto him and didn’t let him go until help arrived.
They were soon joined by passers-by James Higlett, and 47-year-old Joanne Stammers, who also engaged in trying to save the distraught man’s life – eventually getting him to safety. He was later admitted to hospital. The boys and their parents recounted their story on the UK’s popular This Morning TV show.
The mother of Devonte stated that he had been traumatised somewhat by the incident and did not initially wish to return to school – but that he has now settled into his usual routine. She added that she was filled by pride by her son's actions and bravery. These sentiments were also echoed by the parents of the other boys. Joanne Stammers who also came to the rescue suffers from Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome which makes her prone to dangerous blood clots, and was left with injuries to her arms due to the effort involved in keeping the man from throwing himself off the overpass – meaning that she really did take her life into her hands when rescuing the man.
All 5 responders, the three boys, and the two adults, will receive bravery awards from the Royal Humane Society a charity that rewards heroic feats and actions that help others, while the three boys also received the Special Achievement Awards at the Broxbourne Youth Awards for their good deed.
Suicide remains a major problem in the United Kingdom, over 6,500 people took their own lives in 2018, and over 75% of these were committed by men. Indeed the male suicide rate has been increasing significantly in the last few years with males aged 45-49 the most likely group to take their own lives. Many have put this down to the loss of meaningful jobs, high-levels of work related stress, substance abuse and economic decline. The UK is not the only advanced nation to experience an uptick in rates of suicide, the United States had a 24% increase in suicide between 1999 and 2014 showing that many of the challenges faced are global in scale.
If you know anyone who you suspect is suicidal you should talk to them about it and direct them towards their doctor or other trained medical professional. Then we can like the heroes in this story avoid further tragedies and heartbreaks.
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