September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, a time to share mental health resources, break the stigma surrounding suicide, and remember those affected by loss. On April 7th, the RNC issued a news release looking for help in finding missing person 43-year-old James Carew of Corner Brook. Bay of Islands Volunteer Search and Rescue located the man’s body the next evening.
Kelly Carew says she still sees her brother, known as “Bo,” as a little boy in his Beavers’ uniform wearing a salt and pepper cap. She says Bo was diagnosed with ADHD and got in trouble with the law at the age of 12. He was taken by police to the Whitbourne Boys Home. Carew says that the 8 hour drive gave Bo time to think but what followed was abuse that he kept hidden. She convinced her brother to contact a lawyer about the abuse in 2022 and a month later Bo had a car accident and ended up on life support. He had a fractured skull, a torn aorta, collapsed organs as well as broken shoulders, hips, and vertebrae in his back.
Carew says last Easter, they all knew something was wrong when Bo went missing. She planned her baby brother’s funeral and is in counseling to deal with the grief. She says you can’t see the sickness or injury when someone is suffering from mental health issues but if you see anyone looking sad, talk to them and be their advocate.
