Assignment #2 - Civic Issues

Instructions:
Make a copy of the assignment
ith team members
Share w
Complete each section; answer in blue

Part I - Team
List the names of everyone on the team
Lily Boehm
Darby ONeill
Katherine Lee
Part II - Civic Issue
What is the civic issue you are addressing? Teen Suicide
Why is this civic issue important to address? (Each person in the group
answers - write your name, then response)
Darby - Many teenagers nowadays are choosing to take their own life, due to built up pressure,
depression, abuse, bullying, and many other complicated reasons. They are sadly choosing a
permanent, irreversible decision, rather than pushing through it. We need to reach them during
this fragile state, and help them into recovery before they make a choice they cant undo.
Lily- This issue is important because many teens suicide because of serious depression, bullying,
or pressure from friends or parents. Many teens think that the easy way through the hard road is to
just eliminate themselves from the problem. What they dont realize is that there are many other
ways that the problem could be solved instead of suicide.
Katherine- This issue is important to address is because many teens commit suicide, and the
population might decrease, also it is necessary that we understand the reasons why teens suicide.
Find two organizations already addressing this issue and a fill out the table
below

Organization Name Mission Programs to Address the Issue

Society for the The mission of the SPTS is to They have a program named SPTS
Prevention of Teen reduce the number of youth Expert Program, where they send
Suicide suicides and attempted people from their organizations and
suicides by encouraging go to schools to have workshops and
public awareness through the training programs for schools,
development and promotion community groups, professional
of educational training conferences and parents to teach
programs. them knowledge of this issue.

Forefront Suicide Mission of Forefront Suicide They created the Forefront in

 Prevention (A Prevention: To empower
Collaboration of UW individuals and communities
Schools) to take sustainable action to
prevent suicide, champion
systemic change, and restore
hope.
Schools Program to provide suicide
prevention education to 13 high
schools in King County, first year,
they provide technical assistance in
drafting suicide-specific crisis plans
and support to implement suicide
prevention training for teachers,
parents, and students. The second
year involves enhanced training,
peer-to-peer teaching, social
emotional learning and proactive
behavioral health and suicide
prevention in these schools.

Part IV - Initial Research

Instructions: Find some statistics about the issue in our area and fill out the table

Statistic What is significant about Where did you get it?

the statistic? (Give it
meaning other than a
number)
More than 42,000 42,000 is a big number even Forefront Suicide Prevention
people died because of though the US population is Organization, University of
suicide in the US every far more than that, it is even Washington
year. more than the population in Population of Lynnwood and
Lynnwood and Bothell. Bothell: togetherweteach.com
teaching resources

Each week two young Suicide can cause death, but intheforefront.org, University of
men (10-24 years old) there are also some of them Washington
dies because of suicide are non-fatal, but even though
and there are 17 they are non-fatal there is still
hospitalization for a risk. Each year there are
non-fatal suicide approximately 52 weeks,
attempts on the average therefore there are 884
of Washington State. hospitalizations and 104
young men will die, and this is
just the average.

More teenagers and This is very significant http://prp.jasonfoundation.com/fact

young adults die from because 38.5 percent of men s/youth-suicide-statistics/
suicide than from cancer, and women have cancer which
heart disease, AIDS, means that even MORE
birth defects, stroke, people commit suicide.
pneumonia, influenza,
 and chronic lung disease,
COMBINED. Each day in
our nation, there are an
average of over 3,470
attempts by young
people grades 9-12.

Approximately 20% of that means that 1 out 5 https://www.ineedalighthouse.org/d

teenagers will experience teenagers experience epression-suicide/teen-depression/
depression before they depression while they are in
reach adulthood. adolescence. When you think
Between 10 to 15% of about it, that is such a large
teenagers have some amount for such a young age.
symptoms of depression They are all in this fragile
at any one time. state, and. They need to be
helped before they make a
poor decision.

Depression increases a Teenagers suffering from https://www.ineedalighthouse.org/d

teens risk for attempting depression a re very epression-suicide/teen-depression/
suicide by 12 times. vulnerable, a nd much more
likely to make a choice of
suicide. Getting them out of
depression is the first step to
avoid suicide.

Suicide is the 10th https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suici

leading cause of death. de-statistics/

Each year 44,193 https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suici

Americans die by suicide de-statistics/

A suicide is committed
worldwide every 40
seconds.

Part IV - Brainstorm
Instructions: Each person in the group add their ideas, include your name first and
then type response

1. What are some ideas to address the issue?

1. Go around to high schools and middle schools to talk to student about how
serious suicide is.
 2. Make programs that can be given out to schools, highlighting our main reasons
why suicide is important and how to prevent and solve suicidal thoughts. The
programs can include hotlines, advice, and other places where they could get
help.
3. We can set up a website that has some informations about teens suicide issues,
and set up hotlines and places that they can get help. This idea is similar to the
program, but it accessible to everyone.
4. Collaboration with different organizations, like a teens drug and alcohol issues,
because substance abuse is also one of the main reasons why teens choose to
commit suicide, or we can collaborate with some psychology organizations to
solve the teenagers social depression issue.
2. What is your mission/goal (what do you want to accomplish)?
1. We want to lower the number of suicides a year or a day because a huge
number of the population commits suicide every day and that needs to change.
2. Prevent suicide and solve this problem from what caused it, like depression,
mental issues and the pressure from parents.
3. Reach suffering teens and help them before they make the decision to commit
suicide.
3. What would your organizations name be and why?
N.S.P.O. (Northwest Suicide Prevention Organization): Because we are in the
Northwest region and we are going to prevent suicide.