Signs of Suicide

The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions—difficult for students and their parents. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil; however, depression, among the most common of mental illnesses, appears to be occurring at a much earlier age. Depression—which is treatable—is a leading risk factor for suicide.

To proactively address these issues, Dorothy Hamm Middle School is offering depression awareness and suicide prevention education as part of the SOS Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program. The program encourages students to seek help if they are concerned about themselves or a friend. The SOS Program is the only youth suicide prevention program that has demonstrated an improvement in students’ knowledge and adaptive attitudes about suicide risk and depression, as well as a reduction in actual suicide attempts. Listed on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, the SOS Program has shown a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64% in randomized control studies (Aseltine et al., 2007; Schilling et al., 2016).

Our goals in participating in this program include:

• To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness
• To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression
• To provide students education on how to identify serious depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend
• To impress upon youth that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a trusted adult about their concerns
• To teach students who they can turn to at school for help, if they need it

Last year all 8th graders, unless opted out by a parent/guardian, participated in the program. Included on this page are resources for parents, including a PowerPoint that goes in-depth about the program, and other helpful resources.

SOS-Parent-Training-2022-23
SOS-Parent-Training (Español) 2022-23
Youth Depression & Suicide Myths & Facts
Risk Factors, Warning Signs, and Precipitating Events
Helping Youth Who Self-Injure