National Suicide Prevention Week

This week is National Suicide Prevention Week and I am  dedicating all of my posts on Facebook and my blog to raising awareness about Teenage Suicide. It is an issue that is rarely talked about, but I assure you it is one that is VERY important and VERY real!  Teens are facing so much more than we ever did. I can truthfully say that I would not make it through high school if I had to go through what these teens do today.  I don't want to hear about kids deciding to end their lives before they have even begun to live them. SUICIDE IS COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE!!! All we have to do is LISTEN and be there to make a difference in someone's life. Here are some statistics that I'm sure many of you have never been made aware of.

* Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in youth ages 15-24.
* Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in College.
* Suicide is the 5th leading cause of death in youth ages 5-14.
* Every 2 hours and 7 minutes,  a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.
* For every completed suicide by youth, there is an estimated 100 to 200 attempts made.
* 25% of high school students report suicide ideation
* In the past 60 years, the suicide rate has quadrupled for males ages 15-24 and doubled for females of the same age.
* Suicide rates for those between the ages of 10-14 increased over 50% between 1981 and 2007.
* It is estimated that there are more than 1000 suicides on college campuses each year.
* One in 12 college students have made a suicide plan.

Those are pretty scary aren't they? When I read those, it fuels the fire for me. It makes me passionate about raising awareness and ENDING Teenage Suicide. If you want to make a difference, please bring the movie "To Save a Life" to the attention of your youth leaders at church. SHOW THE MOVIE!! The movie teaches kids to deal with some of the issues they are facing by turning to their faith and reaching out to other kids that are hurting.  Reach out to the local youth! Volunteer! That's what I did. I have never felt more alive than when I am with those kids. They have sparked something inside me that I don't ever want to lose. I can honestly say that I used to be terrified of teenagers. Probably because I was one of the ones who was harassed and bullied when I was there age. But when I decided that I wanted to make a difference I pushed that aside and am SO glad that I did. They are AMAZING!! Please use this week to reach out to someone . You never know, your one act of kindness towards that person may be the one thing that keeps them from deciding to end their life. Wouldn't that be worth it?