By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Executive Director
Champions of Youth Ambitions
The time has finally come for Champions of Youth Ambitions to embrace the difficult topic of suicide ideation, in our community.
An African proverb attributed to the Masai was the greeting of, “Kasserian Ingera”, which translates to “And how are the children?” You see “Healthy Community, Healthy Youth” is the motto we follow for our non-profit. It comes out of the research of the 40 Developmental Assets, of the Search Institute. It is essentially what children need to thrive.
The New Mexico Indicator Data and Statistics (NMIBIS) states that in 2018, suicide was the 9th leading cause of death in New Mexico. The number of suicides rose to 520 in New Mexico in 2020 and 2021. The CDC states that for 2021, 12.3 million people in the US seriously thought about suicide. So, we’re not alone.
It seems locally we have had some attempts and deaths where the details are unknown. Here, we tend not to talk about stress, depression or suicide. I recall being shocked in April of 2023 when we had four deaths from fentanyl and two that survived the overdose. They were both male and female between their 20s and 50s. It crosses the radar and then falls away, what can we do as a community?
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and QPR is a FREE, one-hour suicide prevention program that will be taught locally. We will be teaching only adults and the first session 11 to noon Monday, May 13 at the White Rock Branch Library. There is space for 25 people. If you want to reserve a spot, email cya.org@att.net, text or call 505.695.9139. We will only accept walk-ins for the available spaces.
We will cover the issue of behavioral health, which I always felt was an easier word choice for people. The idea of talking about mental health was hard in our community and that was some 25 years ago, and it hasn’t gotten any easier. We’ll show you what to look for, what steps you can take if you are concerned about someone. We will have tips, tools, handouts and resources from local and state providers. It really all boils down to hopelessness and the need to have conversations, either one on one, in small groups or just within the community in general.
This month for adults, we will also highlight the research of a NMSU Master’s student. The student began at Chamisa Elementary and graduated as a Hilltopper in 2019. She will graduate in May with her Master of Arts degree in Sociology. Her research study is based on the data from the YRBSS, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. She presented her work at the March conference of the Pacific Sociological Association in San Diego, Calil., then in April submitted and defended her thesis.
To learn more about the 40 Developmental Assets, request them by calling or emailing us at email cya.org@att.net. Our plan is to have a sign up where we will cover the categories of the 40 Developmental Assets and what adults can do to help students thrive.
