This past week, students checking their school emails received messages from SPAN, a club dedicated to raising awareness for suicide prevention. SPAN sent out a new email each day focusing on suicide prevention in specific groups of society, from war veterans to teens.
SPAN stands for Suicide Prevention and Awareness Network. According to SPAN sponsor Melissa Mooney, junior, SPAN Week is important in providing information about suicide prevention to students at Central. “Suicide is a major issue around the country and I became involved in SPAN to raise as much awareness as I could about prevention,” Mooney said. “Sending out information each day via email is a great way to spread the world about suicide prevention.”
Aaron Feldman, senior, was one of the many students who received emails from SPAN this week. “I never really knew what SPAN was, but I like the idea of raising awareness for suicide prevention,” Feldman said. “The information the emails gave me about suicide statistics surprised me. It was shocking.”
All the emails sent out this week listed statistics concerning suicide rates throughout the United States. Information such as the following was listed in each of the emails followed by resources students can use to get help for people displaying suicidal symptoms:
- Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds
- Since the late 90s suicide in teenagers has increased by 6%
In the future, SPAN plans to provide more information about suicide prevention to the student body and community. “So far we have no more specific SPAN events planned for this school year, but we are always looking for new and creative ways to raise awareness,” Mooney said. “Even after high school ends, I will continue doing all I can to get involved and raise awareness.”
