HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4) – Students at a Highlands Ranch school are coming together to address the tragic issue of teen suicide. The students are juniors at Thunder Ridge High School in the Douglas County School District.
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Among them is Mia Heyden,
“Last year I lost my friend Jen to suicide. It was unexpected and one of the hardest things I ever had to go through,” she told CBS4’s Rick Sallinger.
(credit: CBS)
Now, she and other students have formed an organization called Oasis to try to find a solution.
The group created the Oasis room at the school according to student Melanie Zhou.
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“It will be a place for students to come if they ever feel stressed out, having a friend issue, other crisis,” she said.
The school already has trained psychologists, peer counselors. Others were recognized at a news conference at Children’s Hospital where the impact of teen suicide was tearfully made clear to those present by Heyden.
Mia Heyden (credit: CBS)
“I lost my friend to teen suicide, and it changed I life forever and what I value most,” she told those in the crowded room.
Those on hand included the Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman who announced a nearly $3 million grant to improve mental health access and treatment for young people. Andrew Romanoff of Colorado Mental Health was among those speaking.
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As Zhou put it in an interview with CBS4, “Students have to believe they can give help, that they have the power to act without shame or stigma.”
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Oasis has been given a $10,000 grant to move forward with its program.
More resources:
Safe2Tell
An anonymous way for students, parents, school staff and community members to report concerns regarding their safety or the safety of others
1-877-542-7233
The Trevor Project
Crisis prevention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth
1-866-488-7386
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
1-800-273-8255
Mobile Crisis Services, Denver Health
24/7 service that provides mental health support to residents of the city and county of Denver and to Mental Health Center of Denver consumers during and after a crisis
https://www.denverhealth.org/services/emergency-medicine/psychiatric
CBS4’s Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.