By Jondi Gumz
Childhood trauma, bullying, a disrupted relationship. perfectionism, LGBTQ rejection — and then something happens, the last straw, and a young person decides life is not worth living.
The board members of the Jon A. Nadherny/Calciano Memorial Youth Symposium
It’s happened here in Santa Cruz County, grieving friends and family.
What to do?
On March 10, experts at the 25th Annual Jon E. Nadherny/Calciano Memorial Youth Symposium at the Coconut Grove spoke to 400 clinicians, educators and policy-makers who deal with this question every day.
For Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the topic is more than academic.
“I have a 21-year-old trans child,” she said.
DeQuincy Meiffren-Lezin, of Lived Experience Academy
Moutier said evidence-based strategies are:
- Decreasing access to means (such as a gun or pills)
- Increasing access to care (although clinicians are in short supply)
- Increasing coping and problem-solving skills
- Increasing connectedness.
“You don’t have to be trained to engage in these conversations,” Moutier said.
Her organization has a campaign called “Seize the Awkward” with a 15-second tutorial at seizetheawkward.org: Are you alright? Do you want to talk about it?
To break the ice, create a coupon that says, “Good for Chill & Talk.”
Prevention Walk
The organization, which has 74 chapters in 50 states, hosts “Out of the Darkness” prevention walks, a journey of remembrance, hope, and support.
One will take place Sept. 30 at Skypark in Scotts Valley, where participants will no doubt remember Mateo Delhi, who ended his life at 15. For information, contact Farah Galvez Theissen, 707-721-4062, or AFSPStaCruzCtyWalk@gmail.com.
There are model policies for school districts, including what to do after a suicide, and more than a half dozen programs, including Survivor Day Nov. 20.
Moutier, in her training, had only a half hour covering suicide.
“It was always an orphan topic,” she said.
When she talked about pediatricians screening kids 12 and up for suicidal thoughts — a new guideline — the room broke into applause.
Screening for depression will miss 32% of those with issues, she said.
She recommended involving the family at the onset of treatment, not waiting until a young person tries to end his or her life.
A good way to follow up after discharge: “Caring Contacts,” postcards, phone calls or emails, which she said Aetna is doing.
Lifeline: 988
The national suicide lifeine 988, which launched in July, is answered locally by 59 volunteers and 16 staff, according to Andrea Tolaio, program manager at Suicide Prevention Services of the Central Coast.
Responders go through the 50+ hours of training and
more are needed. Call 831-459-9373, x 37, or email sps24hr@fsa-cc.org
Lifeline calls in Santa Cruz County increased from 1,846 in 2021 to 2,901 in 2022.
In 2022, based on those callers who shared personal information, 38% were between ages 11 and 29.
Among the situations prompting calls: Abuse by a mom and her boyfriend, inappropriate touch by stepdad, parents fighting, and feeling trapped in a homophobic environment.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
Wellness Centers
For Dr. Faris Sabbah, superintendent of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, the topic hits home.
He said a 12-year-old boy in his family is at risk.
Sabbah has federal funding to open Family Wellness Centers, one in North County, one in South County, locations to be announced.
“We have access to students for a third of their lives,” he said. “Services have to be co-located.”
Again, the room broke into applause.
He hopes to have wellness centers at all eight high schools in the county, as Salinas does.
In the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the largest in the county, Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez saw a need and pushed to open a Family Wellness Center, which opened a year ago.
Who Will Pay?
Sabbah identified the biggest problem for parents who want their children to get help: Who’s going to pay? They may have health insurance, but the insurer may not pay, determining that service is not needed.
They may not have any insurance, or perhaps they don’t know they qualify for health insurance from the government.
“We have to be able to provide services regardless of insurance,” said Sabbah as the room applauded again.
Dr. Michael Paynter oversees the Companion Project to give students in complex cases an advocate.
A new initiative is Hope Squad, which has started at Scotts Valley High School.
Monarch Services, addressing domestic violence, has a Youth Council.
NAMI Santa Cruz County will offer parent training.
The SafeRx Coalition, formed in 2015, is focusing on making Narcan, life-saving naloxone, available in schools to reverse a potentially deadly opioid overdose.
More than three dozen fentanyl deaths took place last year in Santa Cruz County; in some cases, a young person ordered pills for sleep online and they arrived tainted with deadly fentanyl.
This month, a 12-year-old girl overdosed on fentanyl in downtown Santa Cruz, showing the need for naloxone.
Despite the challenges, Sabbah is hopeful, telling those at the daylong conference, “I believe every day you are saving lives.”
County Efforts
In 2021, Santa Cruz County launched the Mobile Emergency Response Team for Youth was launched in 2021 for those up to age 21 in South County. Services are available weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Call 1-800-952-2335.
Andrea Turnbull, interim manager of crisis services for Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health, said a new van has just arrived to serve youth in North County .
The number of youth served grew from 272 in 2021 to 361 in 2022.
AB 988 funded the mobile teams and the new 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. The state must write a 5-year plan for the 988 system by Dec. 31.
The county’s Mental Health Pocket Guide lists resources to call, such as National Alliance on Mental Illness, which has peer support groups 831-427-8020, Lighthouse Counseling, part of Janus of Santa Cruz, 831-462-1060, Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, 728-6445, Monarch Services Crisis Line, 888-900-4232, and the Trevor Project, 866-488-7386.
What Santa Cruz County doesn’t have a residential facility for youth in crisis. To get that help, families have had to drive outside the county.
Hope is on the horizon with the county’s impending purchase of 5300 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, an office building owned by Bay Federal Credit Union, with plans to remodel and retrofit for 16 inpatient beds. The county is asking for bids, and construction is expected to start next year, with opening due in late 2024.
James Russell has been hired as manager.
Lived Experience
DeQuincy Meiffren-Lezine, who has a PhD and directs the Lived Experience Academy, talked about his experience going from being suicidal to growth.
“If I had access to a gun,” I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
He said the acute phase can be very short, hours or minutes, giving time to intervene.
When he was talking to someone with suicidal thoughts, he offered options that were rejected. But when he suggested, “Why not go to sleep?” the man agreed, saying, “I can do that.”
That’s an example of distraction.
For an in-person intervention, he recommends staying with the person and making eye contact until the acute phase ends.
Friends and family can provide help in a crisis, he said.
After someone has tried to end his or her life, it’s important, he said, to look forward — not just on what happened in the past.
“If we keep people in this state of alert, we’re increasing their risk of suicide,” he said. “Just because somebody has had a crisis, you don’t give up on their growth.”
A personal relationship saved him.
“I call my wife my North Star,” he said. “It was an attachment so strong, I didn’t think about dying.”
A “life kit,” can make a difference, he added, not just putting a gun into a lockbox, but putting in a photo of your children inside, too, to remind you of your strongest reason for living.
Ben Geilhufe, manager of the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Gender Specialty Clinic, has been an educator and advocate for the transgender community since beginning his own transition in 2006. His private practice is in Santa Cruz.
He said 95% of queer and transgender youth have seriously considered suicide — “staggering numbers.”
Local resources include the Diversity Center and www.sctrans.org.
How to Cope
- Meiffren-Lezine: Delete all the apps on your cellphone like Bilie Eilish did, to avoid negative comments.
- Moutier: Positive survival stories can inspire others and spread hope.
- Sabbah: We’re looking at peer counseling.
- Meiffren-Lezine: NowMattersNow.org offers support.
- Trunbull: County clinics at 1400 Emeline Ave., Santa Cruz and 1430 Freedom Boulevard, Watsonville, are open to all.
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Top Photo: Linda Calciano listens to her son Nick Calciano at the microphone