The Durango Herald's next Durango Diaries will focus on providing insight into how we reported on the recent multi-part series, Creating Connections: Solutions to youth suicide in La Plata County.
The event will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave.
Reporters and editors who were involved in the series will make up the panel. They will discuss why we chose to use a solutions journalism framework for this series, what we learned during the reporting and editing process, how we used our sources and community reaction.
The series was reported by Herald Staff Writer Mary Shinn and KDUR audio journalist Sarah Flower, who collaborated on this project. Shinn wrote the news stories, and Flower created the audio stories. They will be part of the Durango Diaries panel, along with solutions journalism editor David Buck, City Editor Shane Benjamin and Audience Development Manager Claudia Laws. Executive Editor Amy Maestas will moderate the panel.
All stories are available to read online at durangoherald.com/youth-suicide-in-la-plata-county.
Part of the youth suicide series was an endeavor we undertook to provide a community service. We wanted to make sure that we were engaging with our community in a way that the issue needed and deserved.
We invited local stakeholders who work in suicide prevention and awareness to meet with us to discuss what they needed to help residents know what resources are available. Conversations leaned toward a community that doesn't always know where to go or how many resources exist in our area, and a lack of time and staff availability of these groups that are mostly nonprofits.
Those issues, combined with the Herald's visibility in online search, our skills in maintaining data and our continued investment in community storytelling resulted in DurangoCares.com, a website that serves La Plata County residents by highlighting efforts in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.
DurangoCares.com offers:
A list of all resources in La Plata County available for those contemplating suicide, what those resources offer and how to contact them.A calendar of events where people can connect with one another.Monthly stories profiling a local resource.Links to Herald stories about suicide prevention.Stories of resilience, an area for people to share their stories of hope, strength and change as well as a platform to connect with others. This resource will be updated monthly with information from the organizations and stories about the organizations.
Visit www.durangocares.com.
