By sponsoring various activities and events related to educating students about suicide, Cathedral Catholic High School kicked off Suicide Prevention Week today in an effort to promote suicide awareness and to prevent future deaths.

“My real hope is that this week is educational and empowering for students,” CCHS psychology teacher and event presenter Mr. Frank Caro said. “Even for those [students] who feel emotionally healthy, there is a good chance they know someone who could use their support. [The week] will also help them be healthier and when struggles do come his or her way, they will be educated about the nature of sadness and what to do about it.

“The activities NHS, ASB, and Campus Ministry has set up are all aimed at connecting people.”

The agenda for the week consists of lunch presentations led by Mr. Caro on Monday and Wednesday, when he will discuss the signs and symptoms of depression that can lead to suicidal ideation. Coupled with Mr. Caro’s presentations, campus ministry will host a celebration of one another and prayer in the St. Therese Chapel to complement the resource fair being held daily during lunch to provide information to students.

To close the week, Thursday’s light group class will focus on student personal support sources. A celebration of life day complete with a spirited lunch filled with activities, music, and faculty-staff game will anchor Friday’s activities.

CCHS administration and wellness team wants to emphasize the student-led quality of the week, and did so by involving student clubs and organizations.

“It’s great that our school is having suicide prevention week and involving Clubs, ASB, and Campus Ministry,” ASB member Lucy O’Donnell ‘18 said. “Having clubs, ASB, and Campus Ministry students help carry out this week is such a perfect way to give other students a voice in what they think will be beneficial to the rest of the CCHS student body.”

Instead of holding an entire week dedicated to curbing suicide, CCHS held a single day in recent years. After recognizing the success of last year’s Yellow Ribbon Day, a consensus formed on the expansion of a day-long event to a week-long event, CCHS Wellness Director Mrs. Ashley Bascom said.

“Based on the culture and the needs of our students and the history of things that have happened on campus in the past, we’ve been asking students what they are ready for,” Mrs. Bascom said. “Last year, students came and said…they felt ready for a whole week with the idea of how [they] can get help.”

Suicide plagues society and unfortunately suicide rates have increased in the U.S., especially among teens. As horrific suicide can be, the statistics surrounding it are similarly horrid. According to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, for every suicide, 25 people attempt suicide, and 123 people suicide on average commit suicide daily in the U.S.

“Knowing the signs and knowing that it is okay to turn to others for help is so important,” O’Donnell said. “This week is all about extending your support and showing your love for your peers. If students can learn how to comfort others whom are having suicidal thoughts or learn about how to get help for themselves, it can prevent so much.”

Along with the event’s extended time frame, the name changed from Yellow Ribbon Day to Suicide Prevention Week to accommodate the many CCHS organizations involved this year in planning the event. Yellow Ribbon is a foundation that is still involved, but CCHS has opened up the week of awareness to more foundations, such as Project Semicolon.

Another significant contributor to the name change is the importance of reducing the stigma associated when fosters suicidal thoughts.

Instead, everyone should feel comfortable talking about his or her mental health without feeling guilty or embarrassed. By bluntly calling the week Suicide Prevention Week, the CCHS community is not hiding behind an indirect name, but it is attempting instead to normalize suicide and mental health discussions, according to Mrs. Bascom.

The CCHS community endured the sorrow and despair of suicide in the past with the passing of beloved Don Jay Zolina, whose death played a major role in the formation of the week and the involvement of students.

“It’s quite typical for a high school to have a day [for suicide awareness],” Mrs. Bascom said. “But with Jay’s passing, it became more personal for our students and our teachers. That’s where the conversation of not having it being an adult driven day, but a student-driven day or week became important.”

CCHS hopes all students attend what they can during the week, and ultimately that prevention and awareness is a product of the week.

“Prevention is about awareness with respect to educating those [students] who are having suicidal thoughts and for those [students] close to someone needing help with suicidal thoughts,” Mr. Caro said. “For the person struggling with suicidal thoughts, awareness brings the clear message that they are not alone. They are valuable. They are loved. They matter.

“Awareness for others helps us to see the warning signs and to then take steps to help.”

Final exams season is the time of year every student dreads, a time of all nighters, highlighted by study guides, cram sessions, and student pleas. This season of schooling brings nervousness to all students around the U.S., with Cathedral Catholic High School students as no exception.

As a way to help CCHS students cope with the stress associated with finals, Love on a Leash, a therapy dog organization, volunteers to visit CCHS and its students around finals time. Established in San Diego in the 1980s, the company has spread to every state within the U.S., and each volunteer is set on helping to make someone’s day better via a dog.

Mrs. Felicia Young, a counselor at CCHS and the visit coordinator for the central San Diego chapter of Love on a Leash, has worked for this organization ever since her 7-year-old dog Bailey became eligible to serve.

“We adopted Bailey when she was three months old, and even then I knew that I wanted her to become a therapy dog,” Mrs. Young said. “This way, I know that she’ll do good in the world, and I don’t have to give her away, like I would if she were to be a seeing eye dog.”

In addition to bringing Bailey on campus, Mrs. Young also enjoys taking Bailey to the Arc of San Diego, a non-profit organization that specializes in helping children and adults with developmental disabilities.

“It is so rewarding to see Bailey working with other [people],” Mrs. Young said. “She has such a sweet disposition.”

Although many pet owners offer stress relief services, Mrs. Young performs her duties just for fun.

According to a study at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, petting a dog releases stress as levels of oxytocin, a hormone that helps regulate social and emotional interaction, increase in humans after petting a dog. Another study published in Frontiers in Psychology found 49 percent of students deal with stress on a daily basis and 26 percent of students deal with depression, which is more than four times the national average.

To deal with finals stress, as well as stress in general, Mr. Francis Caro, a CCHS AP Psychology teacher, recommends interacting with people or objects, including dogs or other animals.

“We are social, which means we need each other,” Mr. Caro said. “In a very fundamental way, we need to be held or hugged and feel comforted, like when we were children.”

Additionally, Mr. Caro recommends staying on task, eating well, and sticking to a healthy eating plan as a way to prepare for upcoming final exams.

CCHS student Riley Staal ’19 concurs.

As she is busy with school, sports, and extracurriculars, Staal ‘19 often deals with stress, but she also finds many ways to relax.

“Playing with the therapy dogs and petting them is enough to put me in a better mood if I am having a rough day or have a lot on my mind,” Staal said. “Aside from what the relief the dogs offer, there are also other ways I cope with stress. I like to listen to my favorite music and watch movies while stuffing my face with food.”

Whether students prefer spending time with friends and family, playing an instrument, or spending time with therapy dogs, it is important to relieve stress in a healthy way.

“It is not about finding the time, but making the time,” Mrs. Young said.

A mantra students should keep in mind with finals fast approaching.