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By Kathy Michaels
Dispersed among Kelowna’s high school population are a handful of students who go out of their way to ensure that those who feel alone can come to believe they aren’t.
Dubbed the Life Savers, their slogan is, “to the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world,” and to some in their mix, those words have resonance.
During this afternoon’s Suicide Prevention forum, members of the LifeSavers came out and talked about how suicide had touched their lives, changed the way they see the world and prompted them to reach out to others. Their telling of personal events left more than one of the 30-plus people within the crowd choked with emotion and more comfortable to speak on a topic that few dare to broach.
“It’s not be something that we will ever stop but we want to get out the message that there is help out there… it is a taboo subject,” said Janette Wheeler, a Lifesaver from Rutland Secondary School.
It’s also a subject that was sorely in need of being addressed back in 2002 when the Lifesavers formed, explained Logan Peachey of Mount Boucherie Secondary School.
“Some students at Okanagan Mission Secondary School wanted to do something because three male students died by suicide one year,” he said. “Since then it’s taken off immensely. We do presentations all through high schools and middle schools.”
While education is a key component of the program, it’s ultimately the accessibility that makes LifeSavers successful as the students are present and easily tapped by their peers who may be in need. They have an inside view of the youth culture that is foreign to even the most perceptive adult. Their presence in the trenches gains them a valuable sense of credibility that enhances their status as helpers and encourages youth to engage in open honest discussions free of adult judgment and misunderstanding.
While youth are the focus of the LifeSavers, local professor Stan Chung explained during the session that everyone is subject to the feelings that can lead to suicide, and it’s within all of us to ensure that doesn’t occur.
“There is nothing worse than feeling like you don’t belong or that you aren’t supported,” he said, adding that ensuring that people know they matter with simple statements like “I believe in you” go a long way.
And, taking an rosy point of view doesn’t hurt either, though he admits not everyone is born that way and in many cases optimism is something that must be learned.
“A pessimist believes (negative events are) permanent, it will always be too difficult and you will fail,” he said. “An optimist knows that bad things are just temporary.”
And, he said, when all else fails just live life by making strides to reach out to others and make them happier.
For those who would like to know more about the lifesavers program go to www.youthlifesavers.com, or if you know someone in need the kids help phone number is 1-800-668-6868
kathy@kelowna.com
250-575-0761
Tags: suicide prevention day
