The reality of Falls suicides

(Editor’s note: This is the first reporting on Niagara Falls suicides I have seen since I started paying attention. It is worth noting the search following the death of Chianti Means and her children Roman and Mecca resulted in the location of two additional bodies found on the Canadian side. Channel 2, which published this story, had no way of knowing. Chianti, Roman and Mecca have not been found.)

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — It’s hard not to feel mesmerized by the beauty and grandeur that makes Niagara Falls one of the world’s wonders.

But that lure also has a dark side.

Chris Rola is a captain with the New York State Park Police, and his day-to-day includes patrolling Niagara Falls, one of the top suicide hotspots in the world that, as has been widely reported, typically sees 25 suicides per year between the United States and Canadian sides. New York State Park Police say they’ve responded to over 30 on the American side in the last decade.

That includes two incidents that took place just within the last six weeks — one involving 33-year-old Chiainti Means and her two kids, ages 9 and 5 months old, going over at Luna Island and the other just a week and a half later when another still-unidentified woman jumped into the Horseshoe Falls.

“It sticks with everybody. It's always difficult,” Rola said. “If you work here, you're going to have those conversations. … This year, we’ve had 84 calls for mental health issues.”

To try to prevent those situations, park police have installed cameras all across the falls to provide 24/7 surveillance, crisis service hotlines that directly dial Niagara County Crisis Services and curved railings to create a physical blockade.

Rola said he believes those measures are all that can be done.

“I just think intentional acts are intentional acts,” he said. “I mean, if we could prevent all intentional acts, we wouldn't have any crime or any bad things happen.”

But Kevin Hines wholeheartedly disagrees.

“They go there because of ease of access to lethal means,” he said. “It's quantifiable. You can do it, and you disappear.”

He knows because he’s been in their shoes, jumping over 200 feet off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

“The millisecond my hands left the rail, I had an instantaneous regret from my actions and this 100% recognition I just made the greatest mistake of my life,” Hines said.

Hines was able to talk to 2 On Your Side, now over 20 years later, thanks to a sea lion that helped keep him afloat until he was rescued by the Coast Guard. He has since committed his life to keeping others from doing what he did — something he’s successfully done at the Golden Gate Bridge.

After years of petitioning for change, the City of San Francisco installed a suicide prevention net under the bridge in January that has led to a 80% decrease in suicides in its first year and saw the first three-month period without a suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge in almost a century.

That includes two incidents that took place just within the last six weeks — one involving 33-year-old Chiainti Means and her two kids, ages 9 and 5 months old, going over at Luna Island and the other just a week and a half later when another still-unidentified woman jumped into the Horseshoe Falls.

“It sticks with everybody. It's always difficult,” Rola said. “If you work here, you're going to have those conversations. … This year, we’ve had 84 calls for mental health issues.”

To try to prevent those situations, park police have installed cameras all across the falls to provide 24/7 surveillance, crisis service hotlines that directly dial Niagara County Crisis Services and curved railings to create a physical blockade.

Rola said he believes those measures are all that can be done.

“I just think intentional acts are intentional acts,” he said. “I mean, if we could prevent all intentional acts, we wouldn't have any crime or any bad things happen.”

But Kevin Hines wholeheartedly disagrees.

“They go there because of ease of access to lethal means,” he said. “It's quantifiable. You can do it, and you disappear.”

He knows because he’s been in their shoes, jumping over 200 feet off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

“The millisecond my hands left the rail, I had an instantaneous regret from my actions and this 100% recognition I just made the greatest mistake of my life,” Hines said.

Hines was able to talk to 2 On Your Side, now over 20 years later, thanks to a sea lion that helped keep him afloat until he was rescued by the Coast Guard. He has since committed his life to keeping others from doing what he did — something he’s successfully done at the Golden Gate Bridge.

After years of petitioning for change, the City of San Francisco installed a suicide prevention net under the bridge in January that has led to a 80% decrease in suicides in its first year and saw the first three-month period without a suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge in almost a century.

Some have argued against adding measures like barriers and nets to landmarks, arguing people will just choose to go elsewhere.

“That’s a myth,” Hines said. “If they're removed from that situation, they're given what's called time, and given time, they're able to consider other options besides death by their hands.”

Hines and many others believe Niagara Falls can see the same benefit if more is done. One idea is to add onto the existing railings by tacking on suicide prevention barriers that extend higher. But that cannot be done without completely changing the view of the falls for the millions of visitors each year.

“Would it change the view? Yes. Would it save lives? Thousands. What matters more to you?” Hines said.

That discussion is still one lawmakers aren’t even ready to touch.

While some have been receptive to the ideas of additional precautions at the falls, there is no major legislation in the works at the time to make any changes.

That makes some wonder if there will ever come a day where the beauty of the falls is the only reason these tourists come to visit.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available at the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Locally, the Erie County hotline is 716-834-3131, and the Niagara County line is 716-285-3515.