What Schools Can Do Now to Reach At-Risk Students

It’s Spring and May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Schools across the country can act now to help kids and families before the summer break.

The past few years have caused dramatic changes to learning modalities due to COVID-19. The pandemic provides a unique opportunity to integrate school-based suicide prevention strategies. Students across the country are either on campus, remotely attending from home, about to depart campus for summer break or are in classrooms at their local school. This is a great time for all schools to reach out to their students and encourage social connectedness and implement other prevention strategies to protect against a cunning phenomenon of thoughts of suicide.

1.       Practice safe messaging. Mental Health Awareness Month is a great time to start consistently talking about protecting and caring for our social, emotional and mental wellness. Schools have many communication lines available to access students and their families and can reach them through in-person learning, text messaging, emails, social media, phone calls and organizing around specific shared interests like sports, arts, gaming, or various other student-attended activities.

2.       Encourage secure firearm storage The majority of firearm deaths are suicides in the United States and students and families should practice secure firearm storage in the home or seek voluntary out of home storage especially if they or someone close to them is going through a difficult time. Secure storage extends to any means where someone has thought about harming themselves with such as guns, alcohol, over-the-counter medications, prescription medications or other substances, rope or sharp objects. Providing access to secure storage solutions such as lock boxes and promoting wide-spread Naloxone access and opioid overdose prevention strategies can be implemented on all campuses.

3.       Promote sobriety and help for problem substance use. Addiction is a treatable chronic medical disease. Although for many who drink alcohol, use opioids, use cannabis or any other substances they may not have the disease of addiction, the connection between suicidal crisis and substance use is significant. Opioid overdose education and distribution of Naloxone can save lives. We can encourage access to recovery meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon Family groups and provide information about and access to evidenced-based substance use treatment programs. We can provide students with access to clean and sober social events and carry the message that treatment can work. Recovery is possible.

4.       Provide tools and trainings for students and staff on how to talk directly and compassionately about suicide risk.  Thoughts don’t have to be acted on. Asking directly about whether someone is having thoughts of suicide doesn’t make them more at risk, it provides an opportunity for honest sharing and encouraging help. Providing training on having the conversation, and when and how to complete suicide prevention safety plans and crisis response plans should be widespread across schools. Most people who experience thoughts of suicide don’t act on these thoughts. Talking safely and openly about difficult, stressful, and emotional experiences can encourage students to know that they can also share the thoughts and challenges they are experiencing.

5.       Encourage social connectedness. Enhancing social connection is vital. Sports teams, classmates teaming up, staff checking in with each other or through events such as clubs, spiritual and religious groups or other social groups- we can encourage everyone to make weekly buddy checks a common practice. Give students and staff space to talk about their emotions and life challenges in all school related activities – in the classroom, on athletic teams, in art, music and other extracurricular activities.

We can help students across the country normalize the thoughts they are having and find healthy coping strategies to survive and thrive.

If you or someone you know needs to speak to a crisis counselor now, call 1-800-273-8255.

Veterans, service members and their loved ones call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.

Your organization can seek more information and consultation at www.AimeeJConsulting.com .