January 2002



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February 2002

Irene's Story 

            Irene is a 16 year old girl. Her father died in a car accident one year ago and her mother died from cancer eight months ago. She moved from out of state to live with her uncle and aunt in Lexington.

Irene used to be a straight A student. After moving to Lexington, she tried to adapt to her new life and tried to do well in school and make friends. Her uncle is a very nice man, but he never had children of his own and thus has no experience in parenting. He placed nearly impossible rules upon Irene such as: no visiting other kids, no visitors at home, no boyfriends, no TV and so on. Irene felt she needed somebody to talk to, so she went on a date with one of her classmates after school. However, on this date she was raped. She went home and complained to her uncle about what happened. He became furious and mad at her and told her it was her fault. He said that she was a “loose” girl and she was not worthy of living in his home. He told her he would give her to the state. 

Irene attempted suicide an hour later and was discovered unconscious in the bathroom by her aunt. Thankfully, Irene survived and is now doing fine. She now lives with foster parents. She recently told me, “I had a horrible year and wasn’t prepared to deal with it. All I needed was to have someone on my side when I was feeling humiliated, angry and in pain. All they needed to do was to say they cared”.

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March 2002

Nina's Story

Nina is a 14 year old girl with some behavioral problems leading to poor school performance. Her parents tried very hard to help her, but Nina showed no improvement. As a punishment, her parents decided not to let her go out with friends unless her school performance got better. Nina decided to “teach them a lesson, by attempting suicide without really dying”.   Luckily, Nina recovered from her suicide attempt.  But her suicide attempt was not without cost. Nina now has health problems as a result of the medicine she used. This medicine caused severe liver damage that will make her need frequent monitoring and treatment.  She also has many restrictions on life activities that she didn’t have before.  

Nina now realizes that it is unwise to play around with life and hopes that other kids will learn this too.

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April 2002

Jessica's Story

           Jessica is a 17-year-old who has been feeling sad and unhappy for      three years. She feels fat, unattractive, and has low self-esteem. Since she has no friends, she doesn't go out or get involved in fun activities. Her parents are both busy as doctors and rarely spend time with her. They believe that they provide well for her and that she has "everything she needs". 

Her school performance has deteriorated from A's to C's and D's. One of her teachers made an extra effort to talk with her. The teacher credited the clinic's video on teen suicide, as well as the information on the clinic's web site, as helping her identify the girl as "a potential risk." Jessica admitted to her teacher that she was thinking about suicide and had taken some steps to accomplish that. After discussion with her parents, Jessica was referred to the adolescent clinic. She and her parents are now receiving counseling. Things are getting better for Jessica, thanks to a vigilant, educated and caring teacher. 

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May 2002

Jane’s Story

This is a story about Jane who represents yet another teenager with professional parents that are disconnected from their daughter.  Jane is 16 years old. Her mother is a nurse and her father is a doctor. They believe that they are providing their daughter with all that she needs. They give her the things that money can provide and they take good care of her basic needs for food and shelter. Unfortunately, something is still missing. Jane’s parents work long hours and they are very busy with their own lives. An important connection between Jane and her parents is missing.  About six months ago, Jane started missing school. She began a pattern of attending school in the morning but skipping in the afternoon. At that point, Jane’s parents became aware that there were some problems and brought her to see a doctor. When the doctor asked Jane about why she had missed so much school, Jane’s mother defended her and gave excuses for Jane’s behavior.  Jane admitted to feeling very depressed and threatened suicide. She believes she is struggling with these problems because she lives in such a small hometown and feels very isolated. For example, she isn’t part of any school organizations and is not connected with other groups or people.

 But this story does not have a sad ending. Jane was hooked up with an organization where she can be a volunteer and will make a difference in other young people’s lives. Now her time and special talents can be utilized as part of the healing process.

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June 2002



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July 2002



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August 2002



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September 2002

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October 2002

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November 2002

At 8:50AM this morning (Saturday) we received a phone call from a parent. His daughter, who is a member
of the Western Kentucky University Lady's soccer team, attempted suicide last night. According to her dad,
she continues to grieve the loss of her friend Nathan.

We lost our son to Depression/Suicide on June 8th. Since his death, we know that in the state of Kentucky
an average of 3 people lose their life to suicide. That means over 250 people have lost their life since Nathan's death.

We know that depression is real - it's a disease - if not treated, it can end up in Suicide. We know 500 plus lives
will be lost to it this year in Kentucky. In business, we are taught to be proactive. We know that if we must be
reactive we are in Crisis mode. We must become proactive in the fight of this disease. How many more kids at WKU are
suffering from depression from the death of their friend? How many kids at other state schools are suffering from depression?

As a member of the state suicide prevention planning group and as a parent, I am begging you to please make this a
major priority to fight this disease.

There are people on the state health department staff that are presently training jailers in suicide depression awareness.
That means we know how to fight it. I know that state is short on money. Then let's recruit volunteers.

As the young lady's father told us this morning, he had read all the articles about Nathan but did not think it could
hit his family. He now knows it can hit anyone's family. Our kids our dying and we have the knowledge to prevent it.

I am begging you, no more deaths. Please help our kids. They want to live and we can help them do that.

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