The Vista Bridge, that beautiful, arching structure in Goose Hollow, is in the news today less for its beauty and historic status than the scores of people who have used the scenic perch to end their lives. In the past six months alone, five people jumped to their deaths from its heights, the most recent witnessed by a volunteer working to try to detour people from committing suicide.
This month, the City of Portland is hoping to end that streak with a temporary, 9-foot mesh barrier at a cost of $236,000. (Because the bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, no permanent change can be made to the bridge’s appearance without formal approval.)
If you visit the Vista Bridge between now and then for one last unobstructed view, you will find inspirational chalk messages written along the concrete guardrail: “It always helps to hug a cat” and “Turn pain into beauty.” There is a bucket of chalk there so you can add your own inspirations.
You will also find the Friends of the Vista Bridge.
The volunteer group, founded by Bonnie and Kenneth Kahn, are patrolling the bridge regularly – especially in the late night and early morning hours – in an attempt to intervene in any more potential suicides onto Southwest Jefferson Street below. The couple started the organization in March, with Oregon Partnership Lines for Life as their fiscal sponsor.
For the past eight years, the couple have operated a business out of the building on Jefferson Street, adjacent to the place where four deaths have happened this year. From that space, Bonnie’s husband Kenneth has witnessed eight deaths. I met Bonnie Kahn at her office under the Vista Bridge to talk about the effects of suicide on the community.
S.Z.: Aside from the obvious, is there something that prompted you and Ken to become proactive in your efforts to stop people from jumping off the Vista bridge?
B.K.: We started the group because people are jumping off the bridge and they have been since 1925. I was working with a man named Frank, in my work as a life skills coach. He was a Grand Ronde tribal elder who had lived under that bridge for many years. He said to me once, “You can’t believe what I’ve seen.” He was making reference, in part, to the deaths that he had witnessed from people jumping off the Vista Bridge.
One day, about two years ago, someone jumped off the bridge, and my husband said, “Don’t look.” I didn’t want to see that. But the very fact that there was someone who had just jumped to his death in the street in front of our offices, I couldn’t take that. I just felt that something had to be done.
I called a friend at the Examiner and he came over and did a story. That sort of opened the door. When the media started talking about it, then other people started talking about it.
It all came back to my friend Frank. I thought about how these deaths impacted everyone — including people who live under the bridge.
We started the Friends of the Vista Bridge because no one would talk about the impact of these deaths and we wanted to raise awareness.
S.Z.: There were 13 suicides from the Vista Bridge in the last decade, then this year there have been five suicides since January.
B.K.: There is a lot of debate on that point. The bridge has always had the name “Suicide Bridge.”
Unfortunately, if you search for “places to commit suicide in the world,” there is a Wikipedia page that ranks the Vista Bridge as the number twelve spot to commit suicide in North America.
S.Z.: There is some debate over the temporary barrier that is going up on the Vista Bridge in mid-August.
B.K.: When we formed friends of the Vista Bridge, our intent was to create a barrier that would be architecturally appropriate to go up on the bridge. Then Steve Novick announced that we would get a barrier in August. Right now, it will be a temporary fix, which I’m thankful for.
S.Z.: The temporary barrier is being fabricated right now. How long do you anticipate until it is erected?
B.K.: We have a volunteer patrol scheduled through Aug. 24 right now. The barrier is supposed to be up Aug. 15. To be safe, we extended the patrol schedule a week beyond that, but if it seems that it will be later than that then we will organize more volunteers.
There is still the problem of people jumping — most recently a man jumped on July 16th. We realized that we needed a fix before the barrier. We worked with Oregon Partnership Lines for Life. They do a Safe Talk program, that trains volunteers to connect people with resources, if they need it. We try to have patrols up on the bridge 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
S.Z.: So have your volunteers had an interaction with someone who is contemplating suicide?
B.K.: So far all of us have talked to people who have been distraught. Three of us have been on the bridge and talked to a person who said they had been contemplating it. We have been patrolling for one week.
We are really just there to let people talk and to listen. We have a resource sheet that we offer.
If it’s an emergency situation, 911 is contacted.
S.Z.: I wonder if the four suicides and the media attention that the Vista Bridge is getting right now draws people out in a way?
B.K.: Media does not cause suicide. People have been jumping off this bridge since 1925.
I’d love to see the patrols continue onto all of the bridges in Portland, specifically the Fremont Bridge.
S.Z.: There are a number of objections to the barrier, the obstruction of the view from the Vista Bridge is one.
B.K.: Then work with us to build something architecturally appropriate. We love the bridge as much as anybody else, but we need to have it so that it’s safe. There are a lot of really lonely people that feel isolated and alone. To have that human contact, can be life changing.
S.Z.: Another criticism is that people will find another way to end their lives.
B.K.: They might. They might also go up there and see the barrier and think about it. But something that is historic and has been listed as one of the top places in North America to commit suicide, will no longer be available.
Typically, they say that if a person goes somewhere to kill themselves and there is something there to stop them, 93 percent will never go through with it. That’s incredible.
S.Z.: Another big objection on the project is that the money needs to be invested in mental health services.
B.K.: Take those 17 people who have died since 2004, then add all of those lives of the people who witness or are affected by the suicide and the emergency services, and TriMet stops and the train stops and think how much that impacts the whole city. Think about how much that costs. Is that $236,000 really that much?
S.Z.: Jumping off the Vista Bridge affects so many people, not just the friends and family.
B.K.: When you think about the impact, a person jumps. The MAX train stops, the driver and all of the people on the train see the body and are traumatized. Then all of the pedestrians and cars that come by, even if the drivers of those cars don’t actually see the body, they are all traumatized. And the people who are living under bridges, what about them? ... When I’m here late at night, I see many people looking for shelter. There are often people who sleep in the veranda of our building. ... People don’t think about that.
People who witness that are impacted. They hold it inside. And maybe they have a drug or alcohol problem.
S.Z.: Or mental health issues of their own.
B.K.: Absolutely. Everybody here has been affected. One of the business owners down the street, and people who have worked for him, have witnessed actual jumpers.
Think about that. Some people who witness a suicide suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome. One person was so traumatized that he couldn’t work. He just shut down.
Many family members and friends come here, too. They want to know, “Where did they land?” They all have their processes and how they deal with it. It is really heavy.
S.Z.: We’re talking about millions of dollars to build a permanent architecturally appropriate barrier.
B.K.: We’ve heard $2.5 - $3 million. We can think of a million reasons to not have this temporary barrier. If you don’t like it, then work as a group to get this moving so that we can get something architecturally appropriate in place. Don’t be a person not doing anything, not talking about it. Get up. Stand up and do something. We don’t have to be adversarial. We can be friends. We can be a community working together. That’s what Portland is about. Stand up, speak out and do something. Talking with other people, it saves lives.