So I am taking a break from the light hearted pregnancy blog tonight. I have something to say that I think ALL of you NEED to hear and am asking you to read this post in it's entirety.
As many of you know, and some of us have chosen to ignore, the past 2 school years in this county, Saint Clair, has been very traumatic for our youth. I am not saying all of us are ignoring it, a good portion of us don't know what to do about it, so instead we do nothing. Which is wrong because something needs to be done and I personally cannot just sit here anymore and ponder the "what ifs" the "how to" and the "what's next." We NEED TO ACT and we need to act NOW!
For those of you who do not know at least 11 high schoolers have died in our county, most at our very own Saint Clair High School, in the last 2 school years. Everything from tragic accidents, to murders, to health related deaths, to suicides, and to depression related accidents. I say at least 11 because it has become to frequent for a high school student to die that it is hard to keep count. And I am ashamed of that because all of their lives were precious and meant more, that I should know more, we all should.
And what's worse then all this death is how numb our teenagers in this community have become. When I ask them what I can do, how I can help, I always get the same answers. I am told nothing, this is something they expect, this is something they have become used to, and their lack of reaction terrifies me. This communities lack of response as whole terrifies me.
Out of all those deaths 3 were suicide/depression related. It is unsure if some of them were suicide of just depressed teenagers who accidentally took too many pills to ease their pain. At best, these teenagers died from an accidental overdose. Being someone who struggled with depression most of my life and was at my worst is high school and college I get it to a certain extent. I also know from personal experience that depression is something you can't openly talk about and that is wrong. Depression exists, and people die from it daily. And teenagers are dying from it in our community. And to make all of this worse, the dealing with the overwhelming amount of death that surrounds them doesn't make dealing with their depression any easier. I want to get it out there that it is okay to be depressed, it is okay to talk about it, it is okay to hurt and okay to say "I am depressed and need help." I want people to hear that it gets better if you want it to. I want people to encourage this conversation. Depression exists among our kids, and it is okay. What is not okay is ignoring it, judging people who deal with it, and not educating yourself about it. IT IS NOT OKAY! We need to act now. We have lost too many teenagers to this.
So all that being said, I am asking, begging, pleading with all of you to help me help them. To help me be there for our youth. All of ours. Even if you don't have kids, these kids in our communities are ours and we need to protect them, comfort them, and be there for them. This community is nothing without them. We are losing valuable members of this community to frequently and way too young and I am begging you to join me.
Here is what I have been doing so far.
First, I have been working with this great group called Know Resolve. It is a group that talks and educates on suicide prevention. It is more then a suicide prevention group. It deals with the depression aspect of it, it helps people who struggle with depression get back on track. In enables us to help. It educated us. It is in it's early stages and is growing fast. I encourage all of you check out their site and to email me if you have any questions. There is a street team meeting on March 21st that I will be attending and invite all you to attend with me. There is also a page on the site called "Speak up" and it is where people share their stories. You can find mine there too. It is a start to making depression an okay thing to talk about. Read, share and educate yourself!
Site
http://knowresolve.org/
Speak up page
http://knowresolve.org/wp/?page_id=36
I have also been working with the youth leader at my church , Saint Mary's, and we have had small sessions were we have welcomed all the high school kids in to come and talk. We also have adult meeting on what we can do next. It is not a church thing, it is a community thing. We would love to work with other members of the community, with other churchs, with other businesses, people, parents, aunts, anyone who wants to help us reach these kids. We are trying to plan another meeting soon to brainstorm on how we can help, email me if you want details.
If anyone has any other ideas on how to help let me know, I am willing to do anything that is within my means to help these kids.
I asking you to do the same. I know it is a tall order and I know it is a lot but this is our community, these are our kids, this has to stop. I know some of you are saying "I would love too, I am just too busy." I am asking you to please try. This is not a community debate over a zoning issue or a new business coming to town. This is our kids, our kids who are dying too frequently and too young. And we have a lot of kids in pain out there who need you.
Thank you for reading this. Please share this blog if you think it will help.
No comments:
Post a Comment