University Prep starts to take a stand in order to prevent suicide in our community

Lately, the University Prep community has been taking steps to improve the suicide prevention training in the community. To create a safer and more open environment in our school, UPrep is working with students and schools around Washington.

The movement started a few years ago when UPrep lost a student to suicide. It left members of the school shaken up and feeling the need to make sure it never happens again. “It was a really hard time for us. We all had to stick together and work through it,” Assistant Director of Upper School Sarah Peterson said. The administration is committed to making sure every student feels like the school is a safe space for themselves.

Counselors Lindsay Metcalfe and Andrea Moore have been working very closely with an organization called ForeFront with the University of Washington. UPrep has a committee of teachers and students to develop ways for the school to create resources for teenagers in depressed situations. ForeFront is a program that works alongside multiple schools around Washington to reduce suicide rates by 20 percent in the next four years.

“They work with colleges, students and facilities to find ways to prevent more suicides. [UPrep] is part of a ‘helicopter’ program where we’re going to look at different schools and see what they’re doing,” new counselor Lindsay Metcalfe said. Through this program they are hoping to gain a wider understanding of how and why suicide happens and the steps needed to prevent it.

Students on the committee will add a younger input and help spread the message. “Support needs to be provided from everywhere, whether it is students or adults,” Metcalfe said. With students helping out, it will hopefully be easier for peers to talk to friends rather than an adult. Metcalfe is also hoping to integrate more suicide prevention more into the curriculum of health, to make sure high schoolers are starting off with a strong base in this challenging subject.

Suicide is not an easy topic, but it needs to be discussed openly. Through discussion, solutions can emerge, and that is what UPrep is trying to accomplish.

By Meher Seera