This article from Baptist Press discusses the apparent rise in suicide rates.

Are we paying attention?  Here are some highlights…

Scott Stevens, director of student ministry at LifeWay Church Resources, told Baptist Press it’s not uncommon for youth ministers to hear teenagers voice thoughts of suicide.

“Teens face challenges of many kinds, not to mention the pressures of a performance-based existence where often the only time they feel accepted is when they excel in their performance — in athletics, academics, etc.,” Stevens said. “Unfortunately, teen suicide continues to be a permanent ’solution’ to what are often painful but temporary problems.”

The most significant increase was found among girls ages 10-14, an age and gender group which saw suicides rise 76 percent from 56 per 100,000 in 2003 to 94 per 100,000 in 2004, the study said.

“Proper response is the key,” Stevens of LifeWay said. “Any time a student voices suicidal thoughts, they must be taken seriously and not discounted as a mere cry for attention.”

Key questions to explore include whether the student has thought about how he/she might commit suicide and whether the student has the means to carry out the suicide, Stevens said.

“In addition, one might ask the teen to contact them if they feel like they are about to take their own life. Immediate intervention is needed,” Stevens said. “Parents and other authorities and caregivers must be alerted. This is not a time for secrets, and if a teen’s friend is voicing thoughts of suicide, they need to share this information with an adult.”

We are not far removed from this problem, but right in the middle of it.  Think about the number of teenage friends & aquaintences you have.  Now read these statistics. 

A Centers for Disease Control survey found that 17 percent of high school students said they’d seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, 13 percent said they had created a plan to commit suicide, and 8 percent said they had tried to kill themselves.

If these stats are completely accurate, 4 of my friends who were at club Monday night have attempted suicide and I feel oblivious to it.  

We definitely need to spend some time preparing & thinking about how to handle situations related to attempted suicide & the actual suicide of one of our kids.

Read the entire article at Baptist Press.