For many students, high school is a rough road to travel on the journey of life. In high school, so many feelings and emotions are swirling around, that it can be hard for many to see that they are struggling to get by day to day. This is why Nationwide Children’s Hospital has extended their efforts to help struggling students by creating the SOS program.

    Signs of Suicide, commonly known as SOS, is a screening and education program that is sought to decrease the amount of suicides within schools. SOS has been proven to be effective and has had many positive outcomes.  

    During an SOS program, students are screened for depression and suicide risk. Also, a video is shown so students can recognize the signs of depression and suicide. Lastly, students are included in a class discussion and may ask any questions that they might have. Jonathan Alder classrooms experienced the SOS program in the fall of 2015.

    SOS introduced the ACT Approach. The main goal of ACT is if any student, parent, or staff member hears someone talking about hurting themselves or others, then they need to speak up. ACT is an acronym for Acknowledge, Care and Tell. When a person acknowledges a problem then they are to listen and not ignore serious information. The next step is caring; by letting someone know you care about them, you are letting the person know that they are not alone and don’t have to go through this by themselves. Finally, tell, tell a trusted adult so they can help the situation.

    Self-harm is nothing to ignore.  It is everyone’s responsibility to help others who need and seek help.