Suicide prevention resources are available locally
On Tuesday, Sept. 3, we, along with many Santa Fe readers, read the heartbreaking news article (“In nation struggling with teen suicide, N.M. faces higher rate,” Searchlight New Mexico, Sept. 3). We were dismayed that the article did not list any local resources for those who might have been impacted by this story.
One of the key national recommendations for the media when reporting on suicides is to always provide suicide prevention information with these stories. Responsible reporting about a teen’s suicide on the front page requires a reference to local resource information for Santa Fe readers. Indeed, help does exist in our community.
The Sky Center/New Mexico Suicide Intervention Project, a well-established, nonprofit agency in Santa Fe, opens its doors each afternoon at Ortiz Middle School to hundreds of youth and their families — young people faced with depression, loneliness and suicidal thoughts, difficulties at school, conflict with peers or family members.
We believe that when a child is in crisis, they must be seen immediately, and they are.
For more than two decades, we have worked closely with Santa Fe Public Schools to deliver vital suicide prevention training, awareness and resource information to hundreds of school staff, students and family members each year. We direct a crisis team that helps school communities cope with the suicide death of a student while preventing a contagion of suicides. We have a peer-helping program in eight middle schools that teaches our students how to cope with problems that may lead to a teen suicide. We offer 24/7 response to adolescents at high suicide risk referred from Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. We provide retreats for our local schoolteachers who need time to rejuvenate and restore their energy so they can attend to the many needs of their students who
struggle in school as a response to the trauma that they have experienced.
We work closely with other youth providers, forming a tight web of partnerships that help prevent young people from falling through the cracks, especially Gerard’s House, Communities in Schools, Solace Crisis Treatment Center and the Mountain Center. Our services are all free of charge due to a strong community response to our mission to reduce the risk of suicide. Financial support is provided by a number of funding partners: the city of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, Santa Fe Community Foundation, Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, Christus Fund, Santa Fe Hestia Fund, Still Point Fund, Rotary Club of Santa Fe, St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, Frost Foundation, Thornburg Foundation — along with many other foundations and individuals.
We have a community problem, and we need a strong community response to address the complex web of issues that elevate a young person’s risk for suicide.
We invite the Santa Fe New Mexican to join this caring circle of providers and funders that work tirelessly and give generously around the issue of teen suicide by offering the local newspaper as a place for resources, stories of hope and transformation (there are so many) and information about prevention.
Our programs nurture resilience, restore hope, promote positive peer relationships, enhance caring and safe school environments, and create strong family, school and community connections. We urge any young person, teacher, faith leader or parent in Santa Fe who may be concerned about themselves or someone else to please call The Sky Center, 505-473-6191, today. We are located at 4164 South Meadows Road in Ortiz Middle School. Our website is www.nmsip.org.