The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

SIX people have died by suicide or in suspected suicide cases in The Bahamas so far this year, according to police figures and The Tribune’s records, as the country marked World Suicide Prevention Day yesterday amid continued concern over suicide and mental health.

Royal Bahamas Police Force midyear statistics recorded four suicide deaths through June, down from eight during the same period in 2025. Police also recorded 37 attempted suicides, up from 32 a year earlier.

The Tribune’s records include two additional suspected suicide deaths reported on June 1 and July 23, bringing the newspaper’s tally of suspected cases to six.

Three of the four suicide deaths recorded by police involved men and one involved a woman.

Three occurred in New Providence and one in Grand Bahama. The victims ranged in age from 18 to 60, with one male death recorded in each of the 18-30, 31-45 and 46-60 age groups. The female victim was between 31 and 45.

The figures came as health officials, counsellors and advocates gathered for the World Suicide Prevention Day Symposium and Orange Alert Day under the theme, “Changing the Narrative for Men and Boys: Breaking the Silence, Building Hope.”

Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Owen Wells pointed to findings from The Bahamas’ 2025 Global School-based Student Health Survey, which found that 15.6 percent of boys surveyed had seriously considered suicide, 16.2 percent had made a suicide plan and 14.7 percent reported attempting suicide.

“That is roughly one in seven boys surveyed reporting a suicide attempt,” Mr Wells said. “I want us to sit with that for a moment. Roughly one in seven.”

Mr Wells said traditional messages that boys should “be strong” and avoid showing emotion can make it harder for them to seek help.

He urged families, schools, churches, sporting organisations and workplaces to create environments where boys and men feel safe discussing their mental health.

Mr Wells said the Ministry of Health and Wellness is working to expand access to community-based mental health services and strengthen early intervention through primary healthcare clinics, schools and communities.

Suicide survivor Terry Miller also shared his experience with substance abuse, hopelessness and suicide attempts, telling attendees that he once reached a point where he believed death was preferable to living.

“When you reach a point where death is an escape,” Mr Miller said, “that death is a better option than living, that's no place. That's no comfortable place to live.”

Mr Miller said his substance abuse and mental health struggles became increasingly severe during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He recalled attempting suicide on Christmas Eve after becoming overwhelmed by feelings of shame, hopelessness and worthlessness.

“I felt so horrible,” he said. “I felt so hopeless. I felt so useless. I felt so ashamed.”

Mr Miller said that despite growing up in a Christian family and regularly attending church, he reached a point where he no longer believed his life was worth continuing.

He said he took approximately 50 to 65 pills that night and prayed that he would not survive, but said he believed God intervened.

Mr Miller also recounted another occasion when he reached what he described as a point of “pure hopelessness” and decided to take his own life.

He said he was preparing to drop his daughter at school and take his wife to the airport when his wife unexpectedly asked him to take her to work first.

Mr Miller said the change in plans prevented him from carrying out what he had intended to do while his daughter was in the car.

Looking back on his experiences, Mr Miller said he now uses his testimony to encourage others who may be struggling and urged those attending to recognise the value of life despite its difficulties.

“Life is going with you,” he said. “It is a wonderful, amazing experience, and it is a gift. And we have no right to take it because God gave it to us. This body is not our own; it belongs to Him.”