What’s gone wrong? Over the last 20 years, suicide has gone up 40 percent and in Washington it is the second most common cause of death for children and young adults aged 10-24 like myself. I personally know of at least four suicides in my local school — people who I had watched play football or were friends of my friends.
I wanted to talk about what our potential solutions are to prevent needless deaths like these from happening. I believe that boils down to three data-proven things parents can commit to: 1) Facilitate open conversations with their child about their mental state and what they need. 2) Provide an environment without means of suicide. 3) Make sure their child knows that they are loved no matter the mistakes or decisions they make.
The point of this letter isn’t to present these solutions as the perfect answer because there aren’t any. The point is for people who read it to ask how they can help support their child and prevent the cutting short of lives.
