Circle of Trust

This week was Elyssa’s Mission Signs of Suicide prevention program at school. We have a presentation that all 6th graders participated in and we teach them the ACT message. Which stands for acknowledge the information, care enough about your friend/classmate, and to tell a trusted adult. After the presentation we give the students a brief adolescent screener for signs of depression. Two of the questions are directly related to thoughts of suicide and if they have ever had a suicide attempt in their life. Each year when we do this presentation I have knots in my stomach all week. There are so many students who keep so much inside them that are truly struggling and after this presentation they let it out. As exhausting as this week is each year( we do it twice a year for 6th and 8th graders) I know why we do it. We identify so many students after this week who need additional support. The phone calls to parents that I have to make and share information they had no idea about and catch them completely off guard is tough. However, after I have the parents come in and we talk first as adults and then with the student I get to witness the growth and healing process. Parents and students looking at each other and for the first time truly sharing their struggles and looking to help and support each other. The follow up calls and emails after helping a family truly get me through these times. As I said today to the men in attendance, you never know what a kid or adult are going through. Continue to check in on them and keep the lines of communication open. If all our youth can remember to acknowledge the information that someone shares, care enough about that person to listen to what they are saying, and tell a trusted adult that they need help we can continue to get our youth the help and support them need.