The Jumper: From Despair to Hope
- Richard Selke
- Sep 2, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 8, 2025
September 3, 2025
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I was invited to speak at a suicide prevention conference and my host and I were eating breakfast at the hotel. A young man walked up to our table and asked if he could join us. He turned out to be the keynote speaker for the conference. His name was Kevin Hines and he told us his story.
Kevin is a “Jumper,” one of the very few people who have attempted to take their lives by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge – and survived!
In September of 2000, Kevin was nineteen years old. He rode a city bus to the bridge while experiencing unbearable mental pain. He couldn’t express what he was feeling and no one around him recognized the signs of his struggle. He felt unloved and that no one cared, though in reality he was deeply loved. He concluded that the only way to end his pain was to end his life.
When I asked Kevin what his first thought was after he dove over the rail, he simply answered, “Bad idea!”
He immediately regretted his decision. He wanted desperately to live – but it seemed too late.
However, a remarkable series of events unfolded. Kevin survived his four-second plunge into San Francisco Bay from the height of a 25-story building. He hit the water at an estimated 75 miles per hour. His spine was shattered, but in tremendous pain, he surfaced and said, “I did the one thing I’d had control over since Kindergarten – I prayed.”
God heard his prayer. As Kevin floated in the freezing bay, he became aware of something circling him. He assumed it was a shark. Instead, it was a friendly sea lion that nudged him repeatedly, helping him to stay afloat. Some call that coincidence. People of faith call it divine providence.
A woman on the bridge witnessed Kevin’s jump. She immediately called a friend with the U. S. Coast Guard who was manning a boat patrolling nearby and who rushed to the scene. Kevin was pulled from the water before hypothermia set in. He was rushed to the hospital where a gifted surgeon performed a 10-½ hour operation to repair his broken back.
Since the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, an estimated two thousand people have jumped. Kevin is one of only thirty-six survivors, and one of just four to walk away in full health and mobility.
But even as he recovered from his physical injuries, Kevin continued to struggle with suicidal thoughts. Along the way, a priest encouraged him to share his story. And that is what he has done. In his own words, Kevin says he has “dedicated my life to advocating for people in mental pain and people who love those people in mental pain.” Today he is an author, speaker and filmmaker.
Why Kevin? We may wonder why God chose to spare Kevin when so many others have not survived. Only God knows. But what we do know is this: God has used Kevin as a witness to others – a beacon of hope and light – in the fight against suicide. His story and his passion for life remind us that God can bring purpose out of pain.
The Lord usually allows the world to operate according to the natural laws He established in the beginning, unless He has a reason to do otherwise. Sometimes, He intervenes. Sometimes, He works miracles. Kevin’s survival is a miracle.
September is National Suicide Month. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. It’s ripple effects devastate families, friends and entire communities.
What’s going on? A world in chaos. The pressures of society. The weight of mental illness. But beneath it all lies a spiritual battle. The enemy wants us to believe that we are unloved, unseen and without hope. Yet the Gospel declares the opposite: you are loved, you are seen, you are never alone.
Kevin shares these words with us: “Our thoughts don’t have to become our actions … Every time I’m suicidal, no matter where I am, no matter whom I’m in front of … I’m going to say four simple but effective words: ‘I need help now!’ And someone is going to help me. Because I’m not going to stop saying, ‘I need help now!’ until someone helps me.”
If you are struggling today, hear this: your life has meaning. God is for you, loves you and has not abandoned you. Reach out. Ask for help. And above all, hold on to the hope found in Jesus Christ.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please seek immediate support:
Dial: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
Veterans Dial: 988, then press 1
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, the Lord is with us - and our lives are precious to Him!
PRAYER
Lord of life and hope, we thank You for sparing Kevin’s life and using his story to bring light into dark places. We lift up all who are battling despair and thoughts of ending their lives. Surround them with Your presence, remind them of their worth and fill them with Your peace. Strengthen families, friends and caregivers to be Your hands and voices of love. Help us all to proclaim the truth that in Christ there is hope, healing and abundant life.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24, ESV
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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