Review-Mirror

The Review-Mirror Youth suicide: recognizing risk and talking about it Parents must talk with teens to protect them from dangers of suicide Imagine three school buses involved in a fiery crash on Highway 401 – with no survivors. That’s the impact teen suicide has on Ontario each and every year. Annmarie Nicholson was at Brockville Colle- giate Institute (BCI) Wednesday night hoping to provide a little advice on how to help reduce the number of suicides. The Director of Volunteer Ser- vices with the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group was guest speaker at a public session to discuss teen suicide. Nicholson was joined by James Thomas, a Brockville-area resident who shared the story of the loss of his 18-year-old sis- ter Chantal in July 2005. The teen hanged herself at St. Lawrence Park. The family later discovered that the drug-addicted youth had been bullied at school and had been taken advantage of by drug deal- ers seeking sexual favours in return for supply. “Every year in Ontario we will lose (the equiva- lent of) three busloads filled with children and youth to suicide,” Nichol- son told 90 people gath- ered for the session in the BCI auditorium. Nicholson said teen sui- cide is the second leading cause of death among youth – just behind acci- dents. Other studies sug- gest one in 10 adolescents attempts suicide while 30- 45 per cent will think about it at some point in their young lives. She suggested the rate of attempted suicides among youth could be so high because of the tremendous changes ado- lescents must cope with today – physical changes as their bodies grow, emo- tional struggles with first relationships and first loves, changes caused by marital breakup and fami- ly turmoil, and other chal- lenges. “At no point in our lives do we experience as much life change as we do when we are adolescents,” Nicholson said. These struggles can lead to depression which can in turn lead to suicidal thoughts. She added that depression in adolescents can manifest itself in dif- ferent ways than in adults. An adolescent may become hostile or aggres- sive and act out such as if depressed. Theymay com- plain of frequent physical ailments headaches. They may also experience feelings of inadequacy, worthlessness and feelings of rejection and failure. Parents should watch out for significant changes in their teenager’s social circles – either a transition to an entirely new group of friends or a seriously intensified relationship with one or two friends. Other signs parents may want to look out for include a teen expressing feelings of hopelessness, a teen giving away all of his or her possessions or abus- ing drugs or alcohol. “I realize that I’ve just described the classic teenage experience,” she said of signs such as moodiness and irritability. “But one of the key differ- ences is that you will see these changes and they don’t seem to be going away. They remain for an extended period.” Nicholson said there are several actions parents can take to help guard against teen suicide. She recommended a plan called LEAP – listen, empathize, ask and plan. She told parents to fol- low their instincts and ask open-ended questions to find out whatmay be both- ering their child. The volunteer director says she often has “heart- to-heart” talks with her children around the ping pong table. “The key is to be respectful and recognize the reality of where the person is coming from and you must realize that youth in life are coping with a lot of things they must work through.” A parent must empathize with their chil- dren’s struggles although they might not agree with them. “You must listen to them the way you would want to be listened to,” she explained. “You must lis- ten to them not only with your ears but with your heart.” She also recommended parents not be afraid to ask if their teenager is consid- ering suicide. The last step is to plan ways to help your child by being sup- portive and providing access to professional help. Board announces vice-principal and principal appointments for September The Upper Canada Dis- trict School Board has announced the shuffling of principals and vice-princi- pals for the coming school year and the Rideau Fami- ly of Schools remains vir- tually unchanged. Rideau Centennial in Portland will have a new vice-principal in Desiree McWilliam, who moves from the same position at Thousand Islands Elemen- tary. Chris Hawthorne will be the new principal at Lombardy Public School, moving from the same position at Chimo Elemen- tary. David Pier will be the new vice-principal at Athens District High, moving over from the same position at Gananoque Secondary. He replaces David Fisher who will be the new vice-prin- cipal in Smiths Falls. Marsha McNair, the principal at Front ofYonge Elementary takes over the vice-principal’s job in Gananoque. Amanda Nie- man, the Board’s vice- principal of Program Sup- port, is the new principal at Front of Yonge. The Friends of Foley Mountain (FOFM) honoured benefactor Jack Herbert for his donations to the park, including the Children’s Nature Discovery Centre and the newly named Jack Herbert Trail. (l-r) FOFM treasurer Sandy Cameron; RebeccaWhit- man, Foley Mountain, Jack Herbert and his wife Terry Dion, FOFM chair Mike Fay. RVCA makes Foley Mountain improvements Improved infrastructure at FoleyMountain Conser- vation area was celebrated at a gathering of the Rideau Valley Conserva- tion Authority (RVCA) and Friends of Foley Mountain (FOFM) last Thursday evening. Recent improvements include a newly surfaced roadway leading to the interpretive centre, new accessible washrooms and an accessible interpretive trail overlooking the Rideau. The Friends of Foley Mountain used the occa- sion of the RVCA board and FOFMannualmeeting to honour its benefactor Jack Herbert by renaming the new accessibility trail in his honour. Herbert, who retired in Westport after operating a successful Harley David- son dealership in Montre- al, has donated $17,000 over the last five years to complete park projects. His gift of $10,000 enabled the completion of the Children’s Nature Dis- covery Centre in the base- ment of the Interpretive Centre. Another $7,000 helped FOFM complete a fully accessible trail near the centre with signage and benches. Infrastructure money from FedDev was obtained by the RVCAand its foundation to solve ero- sion problems on the kilo- metre long steep road leading to the Interpretive Centre. With only limited funds pavement the road has been subject to band aid repairs. Aspillway built into the has been designed to direct water away from the road sur- face. the A $49,000 grant from federal Enabling Accessibility Fund was used for barrier free wash- rooms in the Interpretive Centre which are now accessible from the inside and the outside. The changes necessitat- ed an extension to the interpretive centre which was built in 1972 and the addition of a ramp. The addition improves access to the building and increases its potential for use as a rental facility. Elbow Lake Stewardship Bonanza Saturday The Nature Conservan- cy of Canada (NCC) is looking for volunteers for an event this Saturday at Elbow Lake off Cty. Rd. 10 north of Kingston. The Elbow Lake Three- Stewardship punch Bonanza, part of NCC’s Conservation Volunteers program, will provide a variety of opportunities to make a eliminating contribution toward conserving native habitats and species. Volunteers will assist in invasive species, collecting water samples from the proper- ty’s two lakes, and posting information signs. Lots of rare species can be found at Elbow Lake, such as whip-poor-will and Ontario’s only lizard, the Five-lined Skink. The events starts at 10 a.m. and some snacks and drinks will be provided. Visit www.conservation volunteers.ca and click on the volunteer tab or con- tact Kristyn Ferguson at 1- 877-343-3532, ext. 222 or Kristyn.Ferguson@nature conservancy.ca. June 2, 2011 - 7 WHAT IF... NLMHA COACHES APPLICATIONS - Deadline June 6th , 2011 Message: To all parents or volunteers that are inter- ested in coaching North Leeds Minor Hockey, please visit our website at www.northleedsminorhockey.com, and look in the "Resources" link, and then 2011/2012 Coaching Information to download the Coaching appli- cation and application for police check. All Coaches applications need to be filled out and emailed to Car- man_J_Smith@yahoo.ca, or, we are also hosting a drop off at the Westport Arena on Monday June 6th at 7 to 8PM upstairs in the Rideau's room, for those who want to drop it off in person, or anyone needing assi- tance to fill out their application. If you have questions - please contact Carman Smith - 613-272-0285, or email Carman_J_Smith@yahoo.ca www.scotlandfuneralhome.com ...There was a way to spare your family emotional & financial burdens? Wouldn’t you want to know? You can now pre-plan your funeral arrangements with our new inflation proof programand do just that.You can now help do what you wouldn’t want them to do later. PRE-ARRANGEMENTS because you care. 27 Main Street, Ph: (613) 359-5555 Elgin, Ontario K0G 1E0 email: dwssfh@bellnet.ca Fax (613) 359-6329 MinorHockey NorthLeeds

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