National Suicide Prevention Week is one of the most important weeks of the school year

National Suicide Prevention Week is the week of Sept. 10-16. However, NSPW doesn’t get the immense attention and involvement other eventful weeks do. It’s merely just another five-day week to most students. At De Soto High School, you wouldn’t even know that unless you went online to the district home page, which students rarely do. It should be a week that our school should get more involved with and raise awareness on how to get help.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States in 2015. Suicide came in as the third leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 14, and the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 15 and 34. Considering these statistics, suicide is a touchy subject, but an incredibly important one.
At DHS, the only time I can recall suicide directly being discussed is in health class for one or two class periods. Granted, social worker Robert Kordalski did an excellent job and we had things such as appreciation cards during second semester, but National Suicide Prevention Week is an opportunity to bring students together and get them talking about important topics. It is also an opportunity for staff to take initiative in informing individuals on how they can get help here at school. Since NSPW takes place early on in the school year, it’s idealistic in the sense that new students to the building can be informed early on in the year on how to get help at DHS if they need it.
If a student doesn’t have health class and they are in a time of need, not knowing the options they have here at school or not being actively encouraged to seek help if needed could be detrimental. This is why NSPW is so important and talking about suicide and how to get help in general is important in a community of youth going through the daily turmoils of high school.
For students who may be struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please reach out to a De Soto staff member or counselor, or contact the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.