The suicide of one of my neighbor girls, Christa, is the sole reason I got into working with at-risk teens. Christa was like a daughter to me and a sister to my children. She was raised by her father and lived just two doors away. Often, I would help her dad put on her birthday parties and even helped with her graduation open house. Shortly after, Christa went off to start college at the University of Minnesota and was so excited.

In November of her freshman year, Christa hung herself in her dorm room because the young man she was dating had cheated on her. I will never forget the phone call I received in the middle of the night and I have no recollection of driving alone to Hennepin County Medical Center to be by her side. I believe Christa could have survived this break-up if she had better coping skills. She certainly had others surrounding her who would have helped her out of this darkness she was experiencing. But we never had the chance. I think of her often. Sadly, I have been to more funerals like hers since then. And they never get any easier.

Suicidal thoughts among young people today are so common that I have found myself almost numb to it when one of our young people tell me they are having them. In the '80s and '90s, America's suicide trend was headed in the right direction: down. It had been decreasing steadily for many years, until the past few years. While other causes of death among young people are on the decline, suicide keeps climbing. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for ages 15-24. One group stands out in those statistics - girls between the ages of 10 and 14. Suicide does not just happen. Studies show that at least 90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem. They may also have problems at school or with friends or family, or a combination of all these things. Some teens may have been victims of sexual or physical abuse.

Most teens do not spend a long time planning to kill themselves. They may have thought about it or tried it in the past but only decide to do it after an event that produces feelings of failure or loss, such as getting in trouble, having an argument, breaking up with a partner, or receiving a bad grade on a test. Or becoming homeless. A UC Berkeley study of homeless youth living on the streets of San Francisco found that they have a 10 times higher mortality rate than their peers, mostly due to suicide and substance abuse. This population is highly stigmatized. That stigma leads to neglect and, in turn, to increased mortality. 

You might be wondering why I am sharing this with you. September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and we here at HOPE 4 Youth work hard to get our young people the help they need when they are thinking about suicide. Recently, we called an ambulance when one of our young men came early and was sitting on our front steps, distraught and saying he "couldn't live like this anymore". He wanted to end his life. That was two weeks ago, and just today our doorbell rang early at HOPE 4 Youth. There he was, alive and in need of our services. So while we know we don't have many options just yet to house all of the young people we serve, we are proud of the work we do with them for the five hours each day we are open. And we couldn't do that work without the support of you and this entire community. Thank you!