In 2003, SESS received a grant from The Colorado Trust Foundation to work with Greeley's Latino community to develop culturally appropriate suicide prevention programs. Several youth participated in the six-month planning process. It was this group of young people, ranging in age from 14 to 17, who planned the group, named it Youth Ending Suicide (YES) and designed a logo.
YES is open to any youth in Weld County and meets at the three Boys & Girls Clubs in Greeley and Milliken. Group members range in age from 7 to 19, though most are in middle or high school. Some have begun to engage in self-destructive behavior, many know someone who has attempted or completed suicide, and others come just because they feel a sense of belonging when they are in YES. The group is free and youth do not need to be members of the Clubs in order to attend.
SAFE:TEEN
In 1999, Suicide Education & Support Services began our SAFE:TEEN program in two of our local high schools. Since then, it has been expanded to 15 schools in Weld County, including 2 middle and junior high schools. Since being implemented, our youth suicide rate has dropped from 14.7 per 100,000 to 7.4, and in 2005 we did not lose any youth under the age of 18 to suicide
There are two main objectives of SAFE:TEEN. The first is to reach youth with the message that suicide is not the answer. We use a multifaceted approach to teach what to look for, what to say, what to do and who to call. Using volunteers who are survivors -- someone who has lost a loved one to suicide -- we get students’ attention with a true story. Often very emotional, the survivor stories allow youth to see the real life impact suicide has on families. We then have small reference cards that we hand out, containing all of the information we teach and the numbers they can call for help. In addition to lecture, we use activities to help teach facts about depression and suicide and how to prevent it. Since the beginning of SAFE:TEEN in 1999, we have not only reduced our rate, but we have not had a single suicide in a school where our program is in place.
For more information on any of these programs, please contact Jenni Rocklage at (970) 313-1160 or jenni.rocklage@northrange.org.
For comments on this website please email kristen.jernigan@northrange.org . Suicide Education & Support Services (SESS) of Weld County, a program of North Range Behavioral Health, 1260 H. Street, Greeley, CO 80631, 970-313-1151. All rights reserved 2009.
