April 6th, 2010

Reports the Times Leader:

Denise Burne-Fein and H. Reese Butler tragically have something in common – they each lost a loved one to suicide.

And the bond is stronger because both Burne-Fein’s brother, Matt, and Butler’s wife, Kristin Brooks, died by hanging themselves while they were patients in psychiatric facilities.

Now the two have joined together for the inaugural “PickUpThePhone Tour for Suicide Prevention.” The national tour opened at Burne Honda in Scranton Monday and will continue on to 17 cities and will feature the band Blue October.

There are three keys to the tour: suicide prevention, awareness and education. Matt Burne Honda, Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, is providing a Honda Pilot for the tour. The vehicle is a traveling message board for suicide prevention and resource information.

Butler said Justin Furstenfeld, lead singer of the platinum-selling rock group Blue October, suffered a debilitating anxiety attack in a Minneapolis airport a few months ago. Furstenfeld, who suffers from bi-polar disorder, will speak on Capitol Hill to encourage Congressional funding for alternative forms of mental health treatment programs including creative writing and art therapy programs.

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, said he will do what he can to fund programs aimed at suicide prevention and helping those with mental disorders. Carney drove the Burne Honda Pilot the first mile of the national tour.

“There’s an epidemic of suicides among our veterans,” Carney said. “I will do whatever I can to draw attention to this issue and to combat this preventable epidemic.”

Furstenfeld, Burne-Fein, Butler and others are calling for reforms in how mental health patients are treated in locked down psychiatric facilities. It is estimated that as many as 2,000 people die by suicide in these facilities each year.