For Lewis Cass, this week marks a week when students are working towards becoming stronger together. This week marks the second-ever Suicide Awareness Week. With so many emotions revolving around this week, students and teachers are banding together even more. 

     This Friday, the Bring Change to Mind committee is putting on the second annual Suicide Awareness Walk at Lewis Cass. Mental Health Coordinator, Lindsey Adams, expressed the importance of giving people space to talk about their feelings and emotions. There is a heavy stigma attached to mental health among teens. In order to break this stigma, Cass administration has worked hard to bring awareness to the subject. 

     With such a profound and emotional week unfolding at Lewis Cass, the importance of unity and compassion is clearer than ever. The second annual Suicide Awareness Week has created a powerful platform for students, teachers, and staff to come together, reflect, and support one another through shared experiences and healing.

     Friday’s Suicide Awareness Walk, hosted by the Bring Change to Mind committee, is a pivotal moment in the week — a time not only for remembrance but also for hope. Lindsay Adams, a key voice in this initiative, emphasizes the significance of giving students space to be open about their emotions. “I think giving them a space to discuss those emotions and being supportive is crucial for students,” she shared. Adams hopes to uplift students through positive affirmations, encouraging them to transform negative thoughts into something healing and constructive. “This isn’t a change that happens overnight,” Lindsay added. “But it’s one that we have to work on daily.”

    Ms. Adams compares unspoken emotions to a jar — one that, if constantly filled without release, will eventually overflow. “If we address those emotions as we have them, then we aren’t filling the jar and don’t feel like we are carrying all the weight with us.”

     The awareness walk itself serves not just as an event, but as a conversation starter for the entire community. “It gives everyone a space to discuss the effects it can have on the community,” Adams said. “I hope that students are able to gain resources and connections so if they are ever experiencing those heavy feelings, they know who they can turn to for help.”

     Social worker, Leslie Guy, has seen a change in awareness since the first Suicide Awareness Week last spring. “I think some of the students are more aware of what is being discussed around them and know who they can talk to about certain situations,” Guy said. But she acknowledges that there is still progress to be made. “I certainly hope we have a shift in our student body mindset, but it is not where it needs to be.” Guy encourages students to recognize the adults in the building as allies and listeners — and, if not here, to know that someone trustworthy is out there.

     Guy also emphasized the importance of student involvement through the Bring Change to Mind Club (BC2M). “We try to keep things relevant to our students’ needs,” she explained. “BC2M is a student-led mental health awareness club where students can create and implement ideas for the whole school.” Students have the opportunity to join this group each year. 

     As the week comes to a close, junior, Aftin Griffin offers a heartfelt reminder of the weight this issue carries in the Lewis Cass community. “It is important to know that it is okay to reach out to someone you trust when talking about your mental health. It is not embarrassing or demeaning to reach out to someone about this,” she said.

     Griffin spoke candidly about the loss she has endured. “Our lives will forever be changed by our classmates’ decisions to take their own lives. People who take their own lives don’t often take into consideration the impact it will have on the people they leave behind.”

     Her message is clear: suicide is not the answer. “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem; there is no problem too big in this world that you cannot resolve with some help.” She urges students to speak up — to a friend, a teacher, a parent, or even an online support — and to understand their value. “There are many people who think the world would be better off without them, but there are so many people who love and care about you. It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help — the world is a better place with you in it.”

     This week is a step forward — one rooted in strength, community, and the hope that no one walks alone.