"tWitch" Suicide Raises Concerns About Mental Health During the Holidays

By Tom Kowalski

ERIE, Pa. (Erie News Now) — Following the suicide of Stephen “tWitch” Boss, best known as the energetic DJ from “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” some are concerned with how the holidays may impact mental health struggles.

“People feel worthless,” said Paul Lukach, Executive Director of the Crime Victim Center of Erie County. “People feel hopeless. As weird as that sounds because, you know, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah are all festivals of light and joy and happiness and all these good things are happening. And people don’t feel that. They feel exactly the opposite.”

Lukach says with the stressors of the holidays, it can be enough to push those struggling with mental health to the edge.

“The holidays amplify both good and the bad,” continued Lukach. “All the more reason why we need to be checking in on people and making sure that they are okay, especially if you expect them to be out at holiday parties or gift wrapping parties or family events and they don’t show up.”

Lukach also reminded people to check in on their friends and those who are struggling.

Please, if you know somebody who needs to be reached out to, be that person,” continued Lukach. “Find the things that can get them to those services. These things are preventable. And as we know, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”