As the mental health crisis in teens continues to be a concern, Ridgewood High School will be offering depression awareness and a suicide prevention training as part of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program to our Freshman students on February 24th, 2022. This program is funded by a nonprofit organization, Elyssa’s Mission. The program aims to increase help-seeking behaviors among students concerned about themselves or a friend. Listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, the SOS program showed 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 are:
- 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 with the training on how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality 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 responsible adult about their concerns
- To help students know whom in the school they can turn to for help, if they need it
Information will be sent home to all Freshman parents outside of this communication. If you have any questions please call or email Haley Morelli, School Social Worker, (708) 697-5592 or hmorelli@ridgenet.org.