A friend recently told me about a news story in his city involving a 12-year-old girl named Nicole. Overwhelmed by issues in her family, she began recording a live video where she shared her struggles with whoever happened to be watching. Then, she took a make-shift noose and hung herself on live video in her family’s backyard.
Every story I hear like this increases my urgency to ensure young people understand their tremendous value despite the challenges they face. This story didn’t occur in Colorado Springs, but all too many like it have in recent years. According to El Paso County Health, suicide is the leading cause of death for people ages 10-17.
I hope you agree this is an issue we cannot ignore as we stand for life.
As an extension of our Education for a Lifetime program, 12 area schools are now participating in Who Can Relate, training developed in collaboration with Mayfield Counseling Centers. This suicide awareness and prevention curriculum helps students process three penetrating questions:
- Who needs you?
- Who loves you?
- Where do you find your value?
As students explore answers to these questions, their risk of committing suicide decreases. Students and teachers are already being impacted by this teaching. As one local teacher shared:
“I just wanted to say thank you for your presentation to our young scholars. It takes incredible effort and power to touch such difficult content. This was beautiful, engaging, and a great resource that all people should have access to. This is exactly what I needed to hear today.”
Right now, as part of our year-end matching challenge you can double your dollars and help double the number of area schools we can reach with Who Can Relate. Thanks to generous friends of Life Network, your gift between now and December 31st will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000.
Thank you for your partnership and your prayers as together we seek to value life – and see lives transformed in our city!
With your help today, we can double the number of local schools Who Can Relate reaches to 24! Also, if you or someone you know is struggling, our friends at Mayfield Counseling Centers stand ready to provide support at 719-452-4803. For 24-hour support, please call: 1-800-273-8255
