By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
The Baldwinsville Central School District is working to improve mental health awareness and support. At the Dec. 5 board of education meeting, Acting Superintendent Matt McDonald highlighted the district’s upcoming outreach efforts as the holidays approach.
“There’s never a good time to have these discussions, but I do know that we need to do this in Baldwinsville,” McDonald said.
Baker High School and Durgee Junior High School students were slated to attend a presentation on suicide prevention Dec. 13 at Word of Life Church. The presenter was Jacob Mars, a certified QPR (question-persuade-refer) suicide prevention instructor from Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE). District counselors were available for students in need of support after the presentation. The Messenger went to press before Mars’s presentation, but check next week’s edition for additional coverage.
McDonald said the district’s mental health outreach will continue Dec. 22 at Ray Middle School. Local author Maggie Lamond Simone and her daughter, Baker 10th-grader Sophie Simone, will present to sixth- and seventh-graders on depression, alcoholism and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Maggie Lamond Simone has written about her struggles with mental illness and addiction in her books “From Beer to Maternity” and “Body Punishment: OCD, Addiction, and Finding the Courage to Heal.” She and Sophie both suffer from OCD.
After the Simones’ presentation, students will break into groups to discuss mental health, self-esteem and other issues.
In addition to these presentations, McDonald said the district will make counselors available to students over the holiday break.
“There’s a reason I have chosen … this time of year,” McDonald said. “[For] many students, it’s a very happy time, but I’ll tell you what: That’s 50 percent. [For] the other 50 percent, it’s a very sad time, a very depressing time.”
BOE President Victor Jenkins noted that President Abraham Lincoln suffered from “severe depression” and said mental health education is important so students know they are not alone.
“I think a lot of these kids don’t recognize that they may be struggling in certain areas and just maybe turn in on themselves and feel guilty about feeling this way,” Jenkins said.
McDonald stressed that the district’s mental health outreach efforts are meant to reach beyond campus.
“It isn’t about the school,” he said. “We’re the cornerstone of this community, and … we’re working with kids, but it’s about the community.”
If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, don’t hesitate to get help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit crisischat.org to talk with a trained Lifeline Crisis Chat specialist. If you’re in immediate danger of harming yourself, call 911.
