More and more is being done on social networking platforms in regards to suicide prevention.  Keep updated on our Facebook page and join the conversation!

I've been spending a lot of time over at promoteprevent.org recently.  www.promoteprevent.org is a part of Education Development Center, Inc.(EDC)—a leading global nonprofit organization established in 1958 that designs, delivers and evaluates innovative programs to address some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development.  

They follow four guiding principles: 

• Children and youth benefit when schools and communities work together as partners. Issues that children and youth face today—including cyberbullying, mental health, and substance abuse—are too complex for schools to effectively address on their own.
• Systemic change is the best route to connect schools and other youth-serving organizations to create a positive and lasting impact.
• Collecting and using data to guide decision-making about program services and evidence-based programs is essential to effective program maintenance and long-term sustainability.
• Universal mental health promotion and prevention can support all students in achieving success, both in the classroom and in life.

Visit their site and get involved with the incredible work they are doing.

Christian Adamek, a 15-year-old from Huntsville, Alabama, hung himself days after he was arrested for streaking at a high school football game.

This article is a dramatic example of the changing times we live in and the harsh perceptions we're faced with.  
After Adamek’s arrest, the teenager was expelled from school and faced charges of public lewdness. If convicted he could have been placed on the a sex-offender registry.

For the full article...

Great article from Phil Ferolito / Yakima Herald-Republic.



HARRAH — At best, the memory is a vague dream, said 15-year-old Lilia Vera.

She was bleeding from her wrist when she put a noose around her neck at her home in Harrah. Everything was a blur. She remembers waking up in her brother’s arms as he said: “No, no.”

She was rushed to a hospital and later taken to a mental health facility in Yakima, where she stayed for a few days before returning home.

Overcome by depression and feelings of hopelessness, Vera nearly became another statistic in a growing problem in Yakima County and on the Yakama Reservation in particular: suicide.

Read the rest HERE...

The Miami Ad School created a series of thought provoking posters aimed at suicide prevention in LGBT youth.  With the tagline “Words Can Kill,” the images demonstrate how bullying with hurtful and derogatory slurs can have serious consequences.  The images are disturbing and shocking, yet serve as a powerful reminder that bullying isn’t always physical.  Just this week a 16-year-old named A.J. Betts from Iowa became the fifth student in five years to take his own life at his school. As his mother said in the wake of his passing, “even if we can save one more life from bullying, that would be a success.”

Visit the The Miami Ad School to see the posters.

If you haven't taken the time to follow @YouCanEndure on Twitter, do so now! We'll soon be doing social media outreach from the account and a Twitter "hotline" where you can ask questions.  As we hear more and more stories on the links between cyberbullying and suicides, expect people to be looking for answers.

Below are some cyberbullying statistics you should be aware of:
 
* 95% of social media-using teens who have witnessed cruel behavior on social networking sites say they have seen others ignoring the mean behavior; 55% witness this frequently. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)

* 84% have seen the people defend the person being harassed; 27% report seeing this frequently.

* 84% have seen the people tell cyberbullies to stop bullying; 20% report seeing this frequently.

* 66% of teens who have witnessed online cruelty have also witnessed others joining; 21% say they have also joined in the harassment. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)

* 90% of social media-using teens who have witnessed online cruelty say they have ignored mean behavior on social media; 35% have done this frequently. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)

* 80% say they have defended the victim; 25% have done so frequently

* 79% have told the cyberbully to stop being mean and cruel; 20% have done so frequently

* Only 7% of U.S. parents are worried about cyberbullying, even though 33% of teenagers have been victims of
cyberbullying (Pew Internet and American Life Survey, 2011)

* 85% of parent of youth ages 13-17 report their child has a social networking account. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)

* 52% of parents are worried their child will be bullied via social networking sites. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)

* 1 in 6 parents know their child has been bullied via a social networking site. (American steopathic Association, 2011)

* One million children were harassed, threatend or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on Facebook during the past year. (Consumer Reports, 2011)

* 43% of teens aged 13 to 17 report that they have experienced some sort of cyberbulying in the past year.[1]

* More girls are cyberbullys than boys (59% girls and 41% boys).[2]

* Cyberbullies spend more time online than other teens overall (38.4 hours compared to 26.8 hours).[3]

* Cyberbullies are more likely to have engaged in sexting (31% vs. 19% for teens overall).[4]

* 34% of those who have had any engagement in cyberbullying have been both a cyberbully and been cyberbullied.[5]

* 68% of teens agree that cyberbullying is a serious problem with today’s youth.[6]Reasons cyberbullies said they engaged in cyberbullying:[7]
To show off to friends (11%)
To be mean (14%)
Something else (16%)
To embarrass them (21%)
For fun or entertainment (28%)
They deserved it (58%)
To get back at someone (58%)

* 81% of youth agree that bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person.[8]

* 80% think it is easier to hide online bullying from parents than in-person bullying.[9]
  
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[1] Harris Interactive Trends & Tudes, 2007.
 
[2] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.
 
[3] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.
 
[4] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.
 
[5] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.
 
[6] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.
 
[7] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.
 
[8] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.
 
[9] Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, 2009.