Preventing suicide in our community

According to the National Alliance of Mental Health, suicide is the third leading cause of death from ages 10 to 24. Approximately 90 percent of people who die from suicide actually have a mental illness. Suicide has an immense effect on our community. In 2014 we had a suicide at Benicia High School. This affected family, friends and the community as a whole. If the community comes together and intervenes we can make an impact on these upsetting statistics.
Think of this: if the closest person to you as of today committed suicide, isn’t there things you wish you would have done? So, let’s not wait. Let’s have those resources in our beautiful community. We should make sure the Kyle Hyland Teen Center has a location and stays open. We should make sure there is a no-bullying policy and enforce it. We need the teachers and students aware of the signs of suicide. We could have assemblies about resources and the importance of coming together. We should keep things like Challenge Day going at the high school. It is our time as a community to come together and stop suicide before it is too late.

Brittany Bosscawen,
Benicia

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