The matter is serious because, according to data collected by the Institute, more county residents die by suicide than in road accidents. The Institute’s data are stark. From 2013 to 2019, 134 people ended their lives by suicide; during the same period, 76 people died in road accidents in Bolesławiec County (including pedestrians, passengers and drivers).

“People are dying, and I believe we should talk about it,” says Franciszek Małecki Trzaskoś. “The fact that we remain silent about suicides does not mean the problem will disappear. If decisions by county councils can provide funding for the purchase of a police car, how much money is being allocated to fund psychologists?” asks the Institute’s president.

Information from the Institute for Research and Analysis of the Activities of Local Government Units shows a year-on-year increase in suicide attempts (2018/2019) in Bolesławiec County of 107%, Legnica County of 36%, Jelenia Góra County of 46%, and in Zgorzelec of 19%, alongside a 41% decrease in suicide attempts in Lubin County. Year-on-year 2018/2019 (Bolesławiec County): a 17% increase in attempts resulting in death and a 467% increase in suicide attempts resulting in survival.

Franciszek Małecki Trzaskoś:

We asked the Police Headquarters to provide data on suicides in counties.

There is a worrying increase in a dozen or so counties in Poland.

There are several places in Poland where a red warning light should come on, including the Bolesławiec area.

CPR operators counted well over 30,000 reports, while according to the Police Headquarters there were 11,000 reports.

There are incidents in which we clearly have a suicide, yet the police discontinue the case and say there was no suicide.

When a suicide occurs, the police are obliged to establish whether a crime has been committed.

Discrepancies in suicide data result from the fact that people are ashamed to ask for help or show weakness. We live in a macho culture.

The municipality assumes that if it covers its eyes, the problem does not exist.

PCPRs and MOPSs are underfunded.

Suicide is a taboo subject, but it should not be.

If we start talking about emotions, the problem of suicides will gradually decline.

There are more suicides among Protestants and Evangelicals than among Catholics. Confession, meaning conversation, plays an important role. Evangelicals do not have such confession.

We should learn to talk to one another. Suicide occurs when a suicidal person stops understanding their surroundings.

As a society, we lack empathy. We are unable to see the world from the perspective of the person we are talking to.

My dream is that, when presenting a report on the state of the city, the city authorities would admit that, as far as suicides in the city are concerned, we have failed.

The fact that a child is cruel to peers does not come from nowhere. A child learns behavior through observation, including at home, by watching how the father treats the mother.

Important information

Since April 1, 2020, the Provincial Hospital for the Nervously and Mentally Ill in Bolesławiec has operated the Community Psychological and Psychotherapeutic Care Center for Children and Adolescents. Registration: +48 571 306 436.

Patients are admitted under an agreement with the National Health Fund up to the age of 21 (students). The center employs professional, certified therapists. The center provides:

  • comprehensive psychological diagnostics
  • individual, group and family psychotherapy
  • psychological and community support

Mental Health Clinic for Adults: Registration +48 571 306 367

Where can you seek help in crisis situations? All helplines and support contacts: samobojstwo.pl