Teen's Black Bracelet Sales Bring Suicide Prevention Assemblies to Iowa Schools

A Valley High School senior’s black rubber bracelet sales have funded a series of assemblies at central Iowa high schools to draw attention to depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

The presentations include assemblies at Valley High School and Valley Southwoods Freshman High School in West Des Moines, and a public event at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Johnston Middle School, the Des Moines Register reports.

The assemblies will be presented by To Write Love on Her Arms, a Florida-based nonprofit dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Maria Lind, 16, a junior at Valley, lost a friend to suicide in 2012. She said the campaign focuses on “the promise of tomorrow.” After a rash of teen suicides over the past several years – according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health, 32 Iowa teenagers died by suicide in 2012 – teachers and parents are searching for more effective ways to address the problem.

In the 2011-2012 school year, three West Des Moines boys  died by suicide.

As Lind and her classmates worked through the pain, “we started having a healthy conversation about our feelings, everyone kind of joined together,” she told the newspaper. “I think it’s necessary to have that conversation before anything bad

According to the organization’s web site, it began in Orlando, FL in 2006 when founder Jamie Tworkowski, wrote a story about a friend who struggled with self-injury and addiction and the five days preceding her entry into treatment. The story, which was entitled “To Write Love on Her Arms,” went viral, and T-shirts were initially printed and sold as a way to pay for that friend's treatment. Since then, TWLOHA has become a non-profit which serves as a bridge to hope and help for people facing the same issues.

In Iowa, teen suicides led to a statewide task force that convened Sept. 20 to discuss suicide prevention education for Iowa teachers. At Valley, all staff have been trained in suicide prevention strategies.

Lind raised $2,000 to offset the costs of the assemblies. As a result of her efforts, she will be presented the 2013 Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award by a regional fundraising group.

All ages are invited to attend the Johnston public meeting. In 2012, two 15-year-old boys died in unrelated suicide cases cases, authorities said. 

“I want this to open minds,” Lind said. “It’s on students to be open with their peers about their feelings; to not call bad things ‘gay;’ to not use ‘depressed’ like it’s a taboo term.”

She also hopes it will be a reminder to teens who are struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury or considering suicide that help is available.