After two years of delay, the safety nets that have been under construction on the Golden Gate Bridge have finally been completed. Before the construction of these nets, nearly 30 people died annually from jumping off the iconic bridge according to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District website.
While the bridge is constantly buzzing with traffic, bypassers and police officers have only been able to prevent so many suicides in the past up until this point, and with the implementation of these new safety nets, the likelihood of someone committing suicide on the popular tourist attraction are slim to none.
The nets themselves will have little to no effect on the actual architectural aspect of the monumental piece and the protective materials do not take away from its beauty at all.
Despite the city’s great efforts to put an end to the heartbreaking amount of suicides that occur from the steel structure every year, several citizens criticize the city for not taking measures to stop the rising issue of suicide in the city, at its roots.
According to STAT News, Author Sherrie Guyer goes into extensive detail about how these nets are not as useful as mental health resources would be, and she speaks very strongly on this specific dilemma seeing as she is a psychiatric nurse.
She said, “While building a barrier net is invaluable to those affected, it is, in truth, a poor use of dollars. It would make far more humane and fiscal sense if we caught people long before they jumped.” Given this mindset, Guyer feels that there is no need to be spending 400 million dollars on preventative measures when the city has the resources to provide greater aid.
Especially considering that there are about 3.3 million residents of the city, and this type of construction would have taken about $120 from each resident, this $400 million could have been redirected towards better tools that could improve the overall mental health of the people. This is precisely why several suicide advocates propose that we allocate taxpayers’ dollars to early suicide prevention measures as opposed to merely waiting until citizens have reached the thief’s absolute last resort.
Thinking about how all 400 million dollars could have been used towards making mental health resources more affordable for everyone, whether that be screening, therapy, substance abuse treatment, or medication, it is easy to understand why these nets are upsetting several Bay Area residents who expected more from the government.
While redirecting these funds towards direct treatment wouldn’t have the ability to end the nationwide mental health crisis, it would allow locals to see other opportunities that would otherwise seem out of reach, especially considering that as of right now, the great expenses of mental health assistance make picking up a gun or jumping off a national monument, much more appealing and simple than getting help that is unattainable.