Lee holds second Annual Suicide Prevention Week
During the week of Sept. 5 through 9, Lee University held their second annual Suicide Prevention Week hosted by the Office of Student Care, consisting of a booth, lunch and walk with reflections on how to respond to distress, resource guides and safety plans.
September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness month and National Suicide Prevention day is Sept. 10. The purpose of Suicide Prevention Week is to talk about mental health, how to detect signs of suicide in others and how to appropraitely get the attention one needs as these conversations increase in importance through the rise of suicide in the U.S.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 45,979 died by suicide in 2020, an average of 130 suicides a day.
Photo by senior photographer Morgan Kiehl.
The 2022 theme, “You are seen. Your life matters.” is meant to build upon last year's theme “How to Listen Well.”
“So our theme this year is ‘You Are Seen, Your Life Matters’. Last year our theme was ‘I have time to listen, your life matters’. So last year we focused our conversations on active listening skills that would help you communicate to someone that you care,” said Director of Student Care, Title Nine Coordinator Brittany Gates. “This year, the message ‘you are seen’ builds on that, where we are focusing on seeing others, and noticing warning signs that they need help and support, and ultimately that final message of your life matters is a call to remind us all that we are all made in God’s image and that we have immense value and help reflect that to those who may need to hear that.”
There are many resources on Lee’s campus dedicated to students’ mental health and wellbeing, including the Office of Student Care, the Counseling Center and Residential Life and Housing. If a student is in an immediate crisis, they should call campus security who will put them in touch with the appropriate resource. Suicide Prevention Week is meant to highlight these resources and make them readily available to any student in need.
The Office of Student Care hosted the entire prevention week, preparing for the booth, lunch, and walk, working with multiple offices to provide services to students across campus.
“Because at the end of the day, their life really does matter and we want to empower people to connect them to the help they need to continue living into the next day. I mean at the end of the day, that is the goal,” Gates said.
The Office of Student Care’s number is (423) 473-3917.
The Lunch and Learn session was led by the campus Counseling Center, speaking to the resources they have and how to seek help for yourself and for others. The Counseling Center is a free and confidential mental health service for students. The office secretary reassured students it is okay to ask respectfully about someone’s mental health and suicide, because this will not make them “extra suicidal.”
A common conception about the Counseling Center there is often a wait list to be seen, which they said can be a reality but does not stop their resources or their help. If needed, “appropriate referrals will be provided,” according their website.
The Counseling Center’s number is (423) 614-8415.
Photo by senior photographer Morgan Kiehl.
Residential Life and Housing has guidelines and training each of their staff members go through in order to better serve their residents. They are taught how to handle these conversations and keep their residents safe through these situations. RAs, RCs and Resident Directors (RD) are the first responders to any dorm related incident, with their RA being contacted if an event occurs outside of the dorm.
“As an RA, my biggest concern is keeping the girls in my hall safe,” said junior elementary education major, Meadow Kerlin. “It can be really hard, to be honest with any of your peers especially an RA about suicidality but the biggest thing that I would encourage students with is that our goal as an RA is to keep them safe and let them know they matter. It may feel uncomfortable to have this conversation with your RA, but this is why they are in this role, they want to help students.”
The Residential Life and Housing phone number is (423) 614-6000.
Each event during the week had resources available to students to learn how to look and listen and see what is happening to those around them.
“For some people, you're not going to see signs because they don't want you to see signs. They don't want you to know. And in the end of that, if they attempt or if they complete a suicide attempt, not noticing is not on you. You're not on the hook, it is not your fault. We want you to be vigilant, we want you to be able to say something, but we don't want you thinking if the worst thing happens, this is on me,” Dr. David Qualiana Director of Lee University Counseling Center.
“I hope that SPW helps welcome the conversation about the well-being of ourselves and our peers. It is important to be treating people with kindness and checking in on your friends because you can have no idea what someone is walking through unless you ask,” said Kerlin.
“You don’t have to be a mental health provider to be able to show care,” said Gates.
The suicide hotline number is #988.
