■ A CCSD forum focused on youth mental health and suicide prevention.

Mental health needs discussed

People often tell Marc Orr that they don’t know what to say after his son Anthony — a 2020 Centennial High School graduate — died by suicide in August.

What’s important: Just say it and make it OK to talk about it, Orr said Monday during a Clark County School District virtual panel about youth mental health and suicide prevention.

“We’re doing something here that makes sense to me — to be able to talk about it,” he said.

Nick Orr, Anthony’s older brother, said he’s not sure how to deal with his brother’s death. When he thinks about that day, it doesn’t seem real.

“Seven months later, I still think, ‘I need to text that to Anthony,’” he said.

The live, two-hour forum was moderated by Punam Mathur, executive director of the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation.

It aired on the school district’s website and Facebook page.

Panelists included Superintendent Jesus Jara; School Board President Linda Cavazos; Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert; and Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and founder and director of The Columbia Lighthouse Project.

Representatives from

the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Nevada Children’s Commission, Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention, Hope Means Nevada and the Avery Burton Foundation also participated.

Transition to in-person schooling

Since the pandemic began, 23 Clark County School District students have died by suicide, Jara told reporters after the forum.

The forum Monday began with a video recapping the school district’s transition to distance learning once the pandemic hit, including efforts such as distributing Chromebooks and providing meals at school sites.

“We will soon begin a return to the classroom that may bring with it a new set of challenges, but we must remember all we have accomplished,” according to the video. “We have faced the year 2020 and it will take a tremendous amount of courage to face the months ahead, but there is no challenge we — the Clark County School District community — cannot meet when unified.”

At the beginning of the forum, Mathur told viewers: “Here’s the big message: You’re not alone.”

The phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline — 800-273-8255 — was displayed on the screen multiple times throughout the forum.

During the forum, Jara said conversation with health authorities when trying to reopen schools often revolved around COVID-19 case numbers and academic losses.

“If my kids aren’t well, how do you focus on academics?” he said. “So we need to really address the whole child, and I think this is where we’re going.”

In December, the School Board approved spending $761,000 using federal relief money to buy a Panorama