Hemet High School is taking a proactive approach to suicide prevention.
After two students at the school committed suicide earlier this year, one the week of Thanksgiving and one in March, Hemet High Principal Emily Shaw decided action had to be taken.
"I allowed the students to handle the grieving process in their own way," Shaw said. "We want to keep everything as far away from the students as possible and provide a normal routine and school year, but we also need to address the needs of the students."
The first suicide was followed by public displays of mourning by the students, including a designated parking spot in the student's lot. The second suicide was not. Shaw said the parking spot will be removed at the end of the school year, but that a rock memorial will be placed at the school with the suicide prevention pledge written on it. She said it will be called the "Never Again" memorial.
Shaw organized four assemblies for her students that featured speakers who had experience with suicide in their own lives. Suicide prevention phone numbers have been posted around the school and the message has been made clear by faculty and staff that there are other options. This past weekend, Hemet High participated in an Out of Darkness Community Walk at the school's stadium for the first time.
The walks are put on by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSD) across the country. According to the organization's website, a person dies by suicide every 15 minutes in the U.S. That amounts to over 34,000 people annually.
"The biggest thing we are trying to gain with all of these efforts is awareness," Shaw said. "When students are feeling like there is no hope, we want them to know we really do care about them and their mental health. The biggest piece is that there are resources out there if they feel they are in a dangerous place."
Shaw said teachers and staff have been working with their students to get them to understand that some secrets are too big to keep. The idea that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem has been constantly preached not only at the assemblies, but in the student's daily lives.
"We want the students to know that if a friends tells them they are thinking about hurting themselves, that is a secret you need to report," Shaw said. "They need to understand that it is okay to have a friend angry at them if they are still alive. Whenever a student reports a crisis, we remind them they did the right thing."
Shaw said that while there has been an escalated effort for suicide prevention at the school this year, it is not a topic that was ignored before the two incidents.
"Suicide is covered in their behavioral health classes and now in Freshman 101," Shaw said. "To say they aren't educated isn't true. They are educated. I think that they know. For me though, I have seen a significant rise in mental illness recently. These students are crying out for help."
Shaw said efforts for suicide prevention will not stop after this year. The school has begun working with the Riverside County Department of Mental Health for prevention in schools and will continue with the Out of Darkness walks each year.
"I am also hoping our AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program will take ownership on this issue and take a leadership role for suicide prevention at the school," Shaw said. "AVID organized the walk and were the brains behind our pledge and getting that pledge posted above the counseling door."
The schools will also implement a system to anonymously report students who may be a danger to themselves. Shaw said she hopes to get several different pieces in place to ensure there will never be another school year like this year.
"Unfortunately, the one thing we have learned is that if a student is committed to harming themselves, there is not much you can do," Shaw said. "We just want to make sure we do our job of getting the right resources and information out to our students. We want them to know that school is a safe place and that mental illness is not a sign of weakness. No person should have to deal with these things alone."
The AFSD website reports that suicide is the third leading cause of death in the 15-24 age group.
"The students understand the difference between homicide and suicide," Shaw said. "But at the end of the day, there is still that empty seat in their classroom or at their lunch table. It doesn't matter how that student died, they still have that sense of loss. I think it is best if they can mourn in their own way at school where it is safe. I allowed what I did because I could supervise them here."
Shaw said that with all her school has gone through this year, both suicides and the sex scandal involving English teacher Janel Ramirez, she is proud of how her staff and students have responded.
"Hemet High has handled so much this year," Shaw said. "In spite of everything, our kids have been pretty resilient. They not only survived, but thrived."