Working to prevent teen suicide

This week about 500 concerned citizens turned out to confront a subject that makes most of us uncomfortable: teen depression and suicide.

Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner hit the mark when he called it a topic no one wants to talk about but "in the meantime, we're losing kids."

The Kalispell Police Advisory Council deserves a lot of credit for organizing this town hall meeting. We were particularly touched by the teenagers who revealed their darkest emotions and the mother who shared her darkest hour when she lost her son to suicide.

Most of us cloak the reality of our teen-age years in memories of football games, proms and young love. The years erase the agony of our first experiences of rejection, disappointment and isolation, but they are oh so important at the time.

As parents work outside the home to provide their families with the best of everything, too many of our teenagers find themselves confronting these overwhelming emotions on their own. Chandra Emert described it as feeling "completely, utterly alone."

Kalispell's School Resource Officer Brett Corbett added another important part of the depression equation.

"The culture they live in glamorizes drunkenness, drugs and promiscuity," Corbett said. "They need a picture of something better."

As a community, we need to make sure the momentum from this community intervention carries forward. We need to make certain we find these at-risk teenagers in time.

Pathways Medical Director Dr. Michael Newman made some proposals worth considering. These included school programs on depression and suicide and mental health screenings for teenagers.

Thanks to the town hall meeting, about 500 people now have a comprehensive list of public and private agencies with expertise in treating depression and suicide. We need to make sure teens have access to help before they hit bottom.

Intervention specialist Kathleen Hayden also did a public service in sharing concrete ideas for helping through active listening, sharing ideas and solutions and making certain a depressed teenager gets expert help.

Jolie Fish, who lost her son to suicide, highlighted perhaps the most important point of the evening. Suicide can happen in any family, including yours. Let's continue working together to make sure it doesn't.