Youth suicide rates are soaring

The suicide rate for Americans under the age of 20 climbed by 18 percent from 2003 to 2004. It increased by 50 percent for kids between the ages of 10 and 14 from 1981 to 2007. In 2007, 4,410 children between the ages of 15 and 24 took their own lives. These are shocking statistics. Just as sobering is the realization that each life lost is someone’s child.I sat through a day-long seminar on teenage suicide sponsored for clinicians and school personnel and offered by Astor Services for Children and Families. Astor, which is funded in part by county dollars, is the leading county service agency to youth and families in a myriad of areas including mental health and early intervention.Last year I teamed up with Astor for a series of community forums on children’s mental health services in Dutchess County for which in October I published a 45-page policy paper addressing areas and suggestions for improvement. Last week I was Astor’s guest for an eye-opening training session by a national expert on suicide, Dr. David Rudd of the University of Utah.I learned, for instance, that the use of firearms is the leading cause of teenage suicides (45 percent), with overdosing on medicine, hanging and drinking antifreeze among the other primary causes. I was surprised to hear that typing “how to hang myself” into an Internet search engine will bring up a video that shows technology-savvy teens step by step how to kill oneself. I wondered how many parents had considered placing parental blocks on the Internet to such sites, not to mention locking up medications and using gun-locks.The Internet is also a source of suggesting death by antifreeze as the coolant chemical has a sweet-taste to it, making it easy to drink. Some states have sought to mandate the bittering of antifreeze to discourage suicide as well as the accidental death of pets; New York is not one of them.Youth are especially vulnerable to suicide because their identities and mind are still developing. They are prone to impulsiveness, seeking an immediate end to crises. They also crave the need for social connectedness and peer relations, finding it tough to integrate socially. Once found and then lost, as in a relationship break-up, they can slip easily into despair. The suicide rate is also high among teens who suffer from bulimia or anorexia, are subjected to bullying or who feel shame or guilt for low grades or in letting their parents down.Parents and those who work with children should be trained to look for the warning signs and work to build hope in young people. Help is always available in the community as well as at the national hotline, 800-273-TALK, or in Dutchess County on the Helpline, 877-485-9700.Suicide robs us, families and societies, of the potential of our youth. It also costs us in emergency room care and police investigations. The national cost for suicide deaths in 2005 was $16 million. Michael Kelsey represents Amenia, Washington, Stanford, Pleasant Valley and Millbrook in the Dutchess County Legislature. Write him at KelseyESQ@yahoo.com.