The medical definition of suicide is the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally, it could also be defined as a last resort to pain locked deep inside.
There are a recorded 1,474 suicide victims in Illinois compared to the 12,700,381 total civilians, you may look at this and say that, this isn’t that many people but every one of those numbers is a life, a best friend, a brother, a sister, a mother, a father, every one of those numbers are a life worth helping cross their struggle .
Social Worker Wendy Vantilburg went through the protocol of a reported Suicide ideation which is: 1) The student is pulled immediately after the report is filled.2) After being pulled they are questioned about the incident.3) If serious the student will be sent to an expert to be furthered examined.
The student’s parents/guardians will always be informed before any questioning. If a student fakes a threat the parent will be informed and if a social worker is not sure the student will be sent to an expert still. Remember to always surround yourself with positive people because no one ever needs negative, pessimistic, and selfish energy in their lives.
The most common cause of suicide is depression, depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, and the way you think and how you act. According to a District 204 Board meeting there was 77 reported suicide ideation at
Save the Number; Save a Life – Suicide Prevention Month the Joliet West High school campus, and the reason why is that students and staff have concern about this.The teachers and staff are trustworthy to make the right decision when it comes down to as sensitive as a topic of suicide.
There are groups and counseling in place if a student is feeling depressed or needs some help with sentimental things, all you have to do is contact your counselor at your school and tell them you feel you need to partake in a session in one of your desired groups. At West there are many groups such as Grief/Loss group, Domestic abuse, and many more.
Here at West the teachers and staff always want the students to feel safe and feel comfortable enough to express themselves to their teachers if they feel uncomfortable with the circumstances of their lives. Many people think it is okay to not talk about their feelings but if keeping it inside is not the best thing to do, keeping things bottled up only makes things worse because releasing is the key.
If you need to contact our social worker or our group runner you can email them at [email protected] and [email protected].