ND Teen Suicide Rate? Anything We Can Do Is Best.

This is a no comment post...at least no off comments.

ND we have an issue...AP NEWS has this story.  Here's mine.

Before I came to Bismarck in 2001, our teenage babysitter killed herself.  I didn't know her personally that well.  So I'm not going to comment on her situation, but it saddened me the most to see at the funeral, how her classmates grasped upon the Boyz To Men song "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday".  It felt like a conversation that needed to be had with everyone.

The romanticism of teenage suicide must somehow be addressed at a root level. If I don't say it now, I can't continue...forever grieving parents should not bear more weight than they already bear. It is unimaginable.

I played a small part in suggesting a forum on teen suicide, as there was a stretch of in-kind incidents in the months to follow.

So, as intrusive as it may seem, I am supportive of any conversation about picking the minds of our youth and hoping for a remedy when situations arise.  You will never suspect the outcome without the clues. Does it possibly step on the toes of the non-inclusive? Yes. it does. But as a member of the not-inclusive crowd, I was still a teen that would have appreciated the opportunity; especially if an inordinate number of my classmates were involved in such a tragic end.

I was the class of 1982, and living in Minot, one of the largest districts in the state. At that time there were far less cases, hopefully it wasn't simply less cases reported.  I believe we would have noticed.

As a father, I applaud all the parents reading this and am deeply saddened for those that have lost.

Any conversation or responsible testing methods that could lead to the lack of a loss is precious indeed.