CRESTWOOD, Ky. (WDRB) -- More and more young people are turning to suicide in Kentucky.
The state ranks above the national average in youth suicide attempts, which is why Oldham County Schools brought people together Wednesday to talk about the difficult issue at the district's first suicide prevention night.
"It is scary, and I don't think anybody is comfortable having that conversation," said Jill Canuel, one of Oldham County Schools' mental health consultants. "But you have to have those direct conversations."
Mental health professionals were on a panel along with Oldham County parents who lost a child to suicide.
The district has experienced several student deaths this year. Canuel said the district has received many requests for mental health services.
"It's been a rough year, and we just knew that we had a lot of families that were struggling," she said.
At the event, parents were able get training on how to spot the signs of suicide.
Some of those include watching for significant changes in behavior, like withdrawal or irritability, and listening for suicidal references, hopelessness or being overwhelmed by emotions.
Parents should also ask their child open yet direct questions.
"You don't want to say, 'You're not suicidal, are you?' because you just shut that down," Canuel said. "So you need to leave that open and ask those specific questions so that they're not feeling there's any judgement and that you really want to know whats going on with them. I really think students want to talk about it."
The school district hopes to have another suicide prevention night in the fall.
Related Stories:
Copyright 2019 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
