BLOG: Suicide Prevention is a Community Effort
As the proverb says, “It takes a Village to Raise a Child”. It also takes a village to keep kids safe. A committee of community leaders and concerned citizens has been meeting for several years to address the issue of teen suicide in our county.
This committed group has been meeting monthly to collaborate and strategize. Evolving into the Youth Suicide Awareness (YSA) Team and funded by a three-year Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention grant, this group has worked hard to protect our teens. Below are some of the team’s initiatives and important ways you can help.
In our schools, the AACPS health curriculum has been updated with a suicide prevention program supported by the most recent research. In addition, instructional staff in every school have been trained how to recognize a child in crisis – and what to do to help. School counselors, psychologists, and social workers stand ready as a first point of contact for support and resources.
What can you do?
Immediately contact the counselor or psychologist at your child’s school if you know of a child who needs help. In addition, you can use the hotline numbers on the back of every child’s school ID card and on the AACPS website or contact the Crisis Response Team at 410-768-5522.
This program, also known as the "Community Warmline", is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide Anne Arundel County Residents supportive assistance and links to community resources. In a mental health emergency, Crisis Response System Staff can provide immediate care.
In addition, you can learn how to help both youth and adults by attending a “gatekeeper” training, such as QPR (Question, Persuade and Refer). This program, which takes about an hour, gives the layperson the skills to recognize suicide risk factors, open a dialogue with a person in crisis, and help the person get mental health services.
Balanced Life Skills in Annapolis is offering this free program on the following dates: Tuesday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 23 at 5:30 p.m., and Thursday, June 7 at 6 p.m.
For more information, please call 410-263-0050. You can also bring free QPR training to your community organization by e-mailing qpr.training@gmail.com or calling the Partnership for Children, Youth and Families at 410-222-7423.
Every community member is an integral part of this effort. Please help us keep all our kids safe.
Allison Ellis
7:47 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
On May 12th, Glen Burnie High School is hosting "Steps of Hope" a suicide prevention, awareness, and resilience walk from 10am-12noon. Registration is free. Click here to register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/StepsforHope
W. L.
8:41 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
What do you do if you know of an adult in charge of some male students at a school, who could have these students for up to 3-4 years, who constantly erodes their self-esteem, negatively impacts their college desires, crushes dreams, constantly embarrasses them, etc . If a parent complains to this adult, serious ramifications to the student are a GIVEN. Parents are afraid to go further with their complaints, parents experiencing this for the first time see what could happen, for the students of those parents will suffer greatly in the hands of this person. The child will suffer either way. This has been demonstrated over and over by this adult. Some brave parents have complainted, but the school seems to turn a blind eye. This person is a terrible role model and perpetuates bad behavior, and who knows, possible suicide. This adult has gone so far as to trace anonymous emails to find out who is complaining about him. Do these groups in schools have the authority to help parents like this with some impact? What should these parents do?
Catherine thomas
7:55 am on Friday, May 4, 2012
Parents cannot operate alone in this matte. They must band together as a unit and take it to the Principal and then move further up the chain of command through the Board of Education. It will work - 30 parents make a very powerful group when they are together saying the same things about one individual.
TC
2:31 pm on Friday, May 4, 2012
Not sure I have ever heard of this kind of situation being allowed to occur without ramifications for the adult involved (I assume a teacher). I question this post because parents do have a lot of power in our school system. If a teacher targets a kid because there was a complaint, then that would need to be reported as well and would most likely be taken seriously by administration. In this litigious climate we live in, the schools would more likely than not address the adult in question. It really makes no sense not too. I'm confused by your post. Sounds more like a hostage situation, rather than a classroom.
Mom3SP
10:55 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
1) Call the appropriate Director of School Performance: http://www.aacps.org/aacps/boe/board/seniorstaff.asp
2) Send an email to Sup. Kevin Maxwell: kmaxwell@aacps.org
3) Name names and school in a brief confidential note or call to the education news reporters: joseph.burris@baltsun.com 410 332 -6100; treed@capgaznews.com 410-268-5000; http://www.wbaltv.com/tv/about (see link for phone number and contact form for news tip)
4) Try the cyberactivism route: post on Change.org or try reddit.com (don't know what that is but it got another action for another potential tragic sitatuion at an AA county HS
5) Try what this guy did: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/25/11389266-dad-wires-up-autistic-son-10-to-expose-bullying-by-teaching-staff?lite
Heather Macintosh
10:36 am on Friday, May 4, 2012
There is another connection to be made - school start time is an issue linked to suicidal ideation. Sleep deprivation due to the mis-match between school schedules and shifted adolescent sleep schedules can trigger depression and anxiety among a long list of other serious health risks. WWW.startschoollater.net has links to current research and is working to bring about a healthier school schedule for all kids. Join us!
Thanks
3:00 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
How about 7 am, every day, we pray for a whole day with no suicides?
Amy may have something. Maybe if we had prayer circles, or community prayers, where we ask our God, meditate, whatever, that our youth find the inner resources to get through the moment, through the day, the week, and onto the coming decades.
My theory is that young people think this nanosecond and its circumstances are FOREVER-- what with much of the popular music saying "we might not have tomorrow".
God bless the work of our community resources to grow well-balanced adults.
Amy Leahy
5:34 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
Thanks- I actually deleted my comment because I felt it was a little too personal. But now after the recent event within the Severna Park community of another child taking her own life….maybe we should be talking about our own personal pain.
We need God in our lives. If that offends all you atheists out there, so be it. The two members of my family who took their own lives needed His strength and did not seek it.
janis davern
4:45 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
you go girl...i agree with you....!
Thanks
11:08 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
7 am, I will close my eyes from my morning hustle and ask God keep the light on for our kids, and, because of course, he does, that our kids can feel and draw from that light. And I will pray for a suicide-free day. I hope that you too will pray-- or meditate or offer up to your cosmos or whatever-- at 7 am, or whenever you remember, for another suicide-free day.
Mom3SP
11:18 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
"Balanced Life Skills in Annapolis is offering this free program on the following dates: Tuesday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 23 at 5:30 p.m., and Thursday, June 7 at 6 p.m." --From article above. I might try that. By going, it doesn't mean that I have anyone in danger (but what percentage of people think they truly do?). It's just that "it takes a village..."
Maribel Ibrahim
9:50 pm on Sunday, May 13, 2012
Gang,
I just wanted to let you know about an amazing group that has been formed on Facebook since Thursday's suicide:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/304079663006758/
It's called Teens Taking Action Against Suicide. With 2700 members in just over a day, the group is growing by leaps and bounds and is being led by teens. If you want to be a part of the revolution to stop suicide, do yourself a favor, go to this Facebook page and just read all the posts. Our teens are now talking, in a language they can understand, so that they can help each other and we adults can start really listening to them.