At 19 years old, Kevin Hines attempted to take his life by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a jump few people survive. Hines says he regretted his decision as soon as he jumped and prayed to survive. He hit the water at 75 mph and broke several bones, but a sea lion kept him afloat until rescuers arrived.
Today, he doesn’t take one day for granted.
Come hear his incredible story and how he’s saving others. The City of Montgomery is proud to welcome this world-renowned mental health activist, award-winning filmmaker, bestselling author, award-winning speaker, and suicide prevention champion on Monday, October 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Good Sheperd Church (8815 E. Kemper Road, Cincinnati, OH 45249).
In the United States alone, there are one million suicide attempts and over 40,000 deaths every year. Hines says his goal in sharing his story is to encourage people never to lose hope and to know that we are in charge of our own stories.
The evening with Kevin Hines is free, but registration is required.
Register at https://www.montgomeryohio.gov/event/kevin-hines-art-of-wellness/
MATTHEW VANDERHORST:
You may have seen articles in the Bulletin or social media posts that say Kevin Haines is coming to Montgomery in this episode of The Montgomery Insider. We want to talk about who Kevin Haines is and share his extraordinary story with you and why you should come see Kevin Haines, The Art of Wellness. On October 23rd at Good Shepherd Church.
AMY FREDERICK:
Kevin has a really incredible story to tell. In 2000, at age 19, Kevin attempted to take his life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I read somewhere that since the Golden Gate Bridge was built in 1937, around 1800 people have ended their lives by jumping from this bridge. Kevin is only one of around 35 people who survived. Matthew and I recently sat down with Kevin to talk about his upcoming event here in Montgomery. We asked him about that day on the bridge.
KEVIN HINES:
Less than 1% of people survived that fall. Most people who do it die upon impact. Very violent and slow deaths. And I lived A sea lion came to my aid and kept me afloat until the Coast Guard boat arrived behind me, which I think is miraculous. And the Coast Guard pulled me out of the water expecting to find a dead body, but found a live one. They were blown away and one of the foremost back surgeons on the West Coast who wasn't supposed to be there that day stayed to do my surgery. The first of its particular kind. He would end up doing that same surgery on 13 more people up until this year. Um, the exact same surgery he invented for me. He would save 13 more lives of people who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge.
MATTHEW VANDERHORST:
It's amazing that Kevin survived. Since that day, Kevin has been working on his mental wellness and has become an award winning author. His memoir is called Crack Not Broken The Kevin Haines Story. He's created a documentary film called Suicide The Ripple Effect, and he's now a motivational speaker. Kevin has a podcast and has a second book coming out soon. He'll be traveling the world trying to stop suicides.
AMY FREDERICK:
And Kevin is bringing his story, a message of hope, healing and mental wellness to Montgomery. During our conversation, we talked to him about what people can expect from the evening and why his message is for everyone.
KEVIN HINES:
Anyone in your community should come and see this event because you're going to learn how to balance, struggle and strife with hope, healing and recovery. And I think that. The biggest message I give for people who are going through pain or those that love them is to never again silence that pain, to tell the truth about your pain to one person willing to empathize so that pain shared can become a pain halved. I think that's really my biggest message, is that whatever you're dealing with, don't keep it to yourself because it could kill you. More people than ever before around the world are dying by suicide. More children are dying by suicide than ever before in the history of the human race. This is an opportunity for parents, teachers, clinicians, community members to come out and hear a message that will absolutely impact them and likely change their perspective if they're considering suicide.
MATTHEW VANDERHORST:
One thing I found interesting during our conversation is that Kevin said, all of us have one thing in common, and that is pain. In some point in our lives, we all go through something painful. Kevin helps people learn how to cope. Here's what he had to say.
KEVIN HINES:
Pain is universal. We're all going to go through it if we haven't already. And I think that expressing pain, but then how to find triumph over that adversity and how to survive pain, no matter how difficult, has related to a lot of people. If you've ever experienced pain in any way, shape or form, or if you love or know someone who has. This presentation is for you. It can help you understand how to cope with pain, how to live with pain, and how to thrive despite of pain.
AMY FREDERICK:
I've heard Kevin say he may not have jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge if just one person had approached him that day. So with that in mind, we asked Kevin how one person can make a difference.
KEVIN HINES:
One person can make a difference by being observant of people who are struggling and not just walking by them, but walking up to them, directly up to them and saying, hey, you know, you look like you're going through something. Is there anything I can do to help? You could be the catalyst to helping shepherd someone, to surviving immeasurable struggle and pain.
MATTHEW VANDERHORST:
I'm sure there are people out there that are thinking, I've never thought about suicide or this really doesn't apply to me.
AMY FREDERICK:
I'm sure you're right. I'm sure there's plenty of people thinking just that. But Kevin says this evening really is for everyone. And if you think this is going to be all statistics, charts and graphs. Kevin says you're wrong about that, too.
KEVIN HINES:
Oh, this is far from death from PowerPoint. This is going to be entertaining. Educational. Absolutely hilarious. You're going to laugh. You're going to cry. You're going to find hope and you're going to change your perspective. This is for every human being. If you're human, this is for you. If you have feelings, this is for you. If you've ever struggled, this is for you. If you are thriving, this is for you. The lessons you will find in this, in this 45 minute keynote are vast, wide, and will reach you to your core.
AMY FREDERICK:
We want to invite everyone to come see Kevin Hines on Monday, October 23rd, at the Good Shepherd Church at 7 p.m. This event is free, but you need to register. We do have a lot of people already registered, so if you want to come see Kevin, please sign up now at Montgomery Ohio.gov or you can call City Hall at 513891 2424.
MATTHEW VANDERHORST:
If you or someone you know needs help. The 988 lifeline helps thousands of struggling people overcome suicidal crisis or mental health related stress every day.