13 Reasons Why and Resources on Suicide & Self-Harm
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
At Side by Side we work to ensure our community is well informed about the unique experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ youth. Over the last few weeks we have seen an increase in conversations among our youth around suicide and self-harm surrounding the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.
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The series, which is rated TV-MA, focuses on a high school teen girl who commits suicide and then sends cassette tapes to those she holds responsible. The series features several graphic scenes including two rape scenes and the girl's completed suicide in detail. Even if youth in your life haven't seen the show, chances are they have heard about it and may be discussing it with their friends.
The decision to watch the series is completely up to you and your family, but we wanted to make sure you were aware that this series may be extremely triggering for youth who have been or are currently suicidal or have had friends who have considered suicide or died from suicide.
While suicide is something that needs to be discussed more in our community, it is our opinion that it should always be discussed with appropriate resources available. This is why we write to you today, to share some resources for you and the youth in your community:
For youth looking to talk about feelings of suicide or self-harm there are two 24/7 crisis lines available specific to the LGBTQ+ community:
For youth or anyone in the LGBTQ+ community who is a survivor of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, or hate motivated violence, we recommend connecting with our friends at the Virginia Anti-Violence Project at 804-925-9242.
Side by Side is working with our on-site clinicians, Lisa Griffin & Chevelle Moss-Savage, to best support our youth as they discuss these difficult topics. We consistently work to ensure our youth are resilient and have the resources they need for support.
If you have additional questions about how to best support youth discuss this series, please feel free to reach out to Side by Side (info@sidebysideva.org, 804-644-4800).
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