Was a Va. firefighter humiliated by co-workers online before she killed herself?; Washington Post, 4/25/16

Petula Dvorak, Washington Post; Was a Va. firefighter humiliated by co-workers online before she killed herself? :

"The trolls were horrid to her while she was alive. And they continued to be awful after her death.

Fairfax County firefighter Nicole Mittendorff, 31, killed herself in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, the state medical examiner concluded. But even after the search for her was over, her body was identified and memorial candles began to burn, the cyberbullies — who claimed they were her fellow firefighters — kept scorching away at Mittendorff online.

If these trolls are actually members of her firehouse family, then Mittendorff becomes another example of a new form of workplace harassment. Instead of happening in the office, it happens publicly online.

There is an investigation at Mittendorff’s firehouse to find out who posted the vicious online attacks and whether they played a role in her suicide."

A reservation town fighting alcoholism, obesity and ghosts from the past; Guardian, 11/22/15

Chris McGreal, Guardian; A reservation town fighting alcoholism, obesity and ghosts from the past:

"An 18-year-old student at Blackwater high school, Darius Jackson, was chosen as the reservation’s representative to a White House summit on American Indian youth last December.

“Youth suicide is an upcoming issue in my tribal community,” he told Arizona public broadcasting. “Young people are taking their lives at a young age, and we’re trying to get that to decrease.”

The Obama administration launched a Hope for Life day in September to “raise awareness in Indian country about suicide prevention”.

“Native communities suffer from a suicide rate that is more than twice the national average,” said the administration’s assistant secretary for Indian affairs, Kevin Washburn, in launching the initiative. “There is no greater tragedy in Indian country.”"