High school is often a rough time for students, particularly freshmen.
There are so many new (and sometimes challenging) people, new responsibilities, new feelings. It can be overwhelming, sometimes to the point of contemplation of self-harm.
It is hard to talk about suicide, but the fact remains that it is a reality with sometimes tragic consequences.
That’s why Riverside-Brookfield High School began collaborating with Northbrook-based Elyssa’s Mission to implement the Signs of Suicide (or SOS) Program with freshmen during the 2022-23 school year. It has expanded to sophomores this year.
The good news, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released this summer, is that teen suicide appears to be in decline. Suicide attempts by teens fell from 3.6% to 2.7% from 2001-04, the report said, and serious suicidal thoughts in 12- to 17-year-olds decreased to 10% in 2024 from 13% just three years earlier.
Nevertheless, it is a serious matter, and Riverside-Brookfield is tackling the issue head on, according to school psychologist Pushpa Winbush, who helped introduce the SOS program, which is a national program and facilitated exclusively in Illinois by Elyssa’s Mission.
“Issues related to potentially suicidal thoughts and behaviors among students are complex, multifaceted and often stem from a combination of psychological, environmental and social factors,” Winbush said. “Intense feelings of hopelessness and futility are strong indicators of suicide risk, especially when coupled with anxiety and the perception that there’s no one who can help.”
Enter Elyssa’s Mission and the collaboration with RBHS. Elyssa’s Mission is a community-based organization that works with public and private schools to educate students, staff, parents and guardians on how to recognize and support at-risk teens.
“We work with approximately 325 schools across the state, working with schools spanning 20 counties, and around 140 to 150 suburbs,” said Jodie Segal, the director of SOS programming for Elyssa’s Mission. “The fact that we are in so many middle schools and high schools, it’s reaffirming the program is doing what it is supposed to do.
“The goal is to be proactive and identify students who might be in crisis. We’re trying to get these students identified so they don’t reach a point of crisis.”
The Proviso Township Mental Health Commission, which includes Riverside-Brookfield High School, provides grants that cover the cost of the SOS program, in materials and training.
Riverside-Brookfield’s student services department facilitates the SOS program by utilizing resources and training provided by Elyssa’s Mission. Students watch three brief videos, and after each video, a member of the student services team facilitates a discussion on questions relating to the video, including depression, warning signs to watch for, risk factors and accessing available supports.
Presentations are done in English classes, since that is a requirement for all students, and students are given a brief screener that includes questions on depression and suicide.
“The screeners are scored by members of the student services team, and students are triaged based on their responses,” Winbush said. “If they identify as being suicidal when completing the screener, a member of the student services team, (such as a) social worker or counselor, checks in with them right away and follows up with risk assessment questions to assess next steps.”
If a student observes a peer who appears to be potentially suicidal, the SOS program emphasizes the ACT technique, which stands for the steps of Acknowledging that a peer is struggling, showing Care by listening and taking their feelings seriously, and Telling an adult.
Elyssa’s Mission adds that students who feel depressed can take steps beyond getting help from a doctor or therapist, such as exercising; practicing good nutrition; identifying troubles but avoiding dwelling on them; expressing oneself through activities like painting, writing or dancing; and striving to look on the bright side.
The most important question, though, is this: If an RB student is feeling hopeless and perhaps contemplating self-harm, what should they do?
“Talk to an adult,” Winbush said, “a teacher, social worker, counselor, psychologist or any staff member.”
