Crisis Management and Prevention

This section focuses on strategies to prevent and respond to various crisis situations, including mental health issues and violence prevention.

View the most popular articles in Crisis Management and Prevention:

Suicide Prevention: Caring For Our Young People

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Suicide Prevention: Caring For Our Young People
At last we have a dedicated phone number for suicide and crisis support. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is 988. More about it and suicide prevention here.

The nation got a new Suicide Hotline on July 16, 2022. All somebody has to do is dial 988 to speak with a trained counselor.

988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), and is now active across the United States. When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary. Source: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

Before we discuss suicide in more detail, please print out the logo above and pin it to your kitchen noticeboard. Then, tell your children what 988 is and what it is used for, so they can help somebody in need the same way they do by knowing how and when to call 911.

This video explains how the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline number works.

Suicide: The Subject Nobody Wants To Talk About

Suicide knows no age limits. It is shocking and tragic no matter how or when it occurs. It scatters guilt widely as the friends and loved ones of the deceased wonder what they could have done to prevent somebody from taking her life. What subtle warning signs did

. . .read more

Could This Happen To My Child?

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Could This Happen To My Child?
Scandals in private school are bound to raise questions for those of us thinking about sending our children to private school. Regardless of how sensational these scandals may appear, they are actually few and far between.

The recent events at historic Saint Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, raise questions for us considering private school. The story was hard to miss as it seemed to air virtually non-stop for a week. Against that backdrop, let's look at things from our parental perspective.

What are the odds of this happening in the school our children attend?

Probably not very likely at all. Statistically speaking, very few incidents such as this occur in private schools annually. I searched carefully to see what I could find about private school scandals past and present. There weren't many, perhaps a handful or so of incidents annually. You can find my search results at the end of this article. The sensational coverage of the Saint Paul's story tended to blow the incident way out of proportion, in my opinion. I would think that the risk of similar events happening elsewhere is insignificant.

This video offers an overview of Saint Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire.

How could something like this happen in a private school which prides itself on 24/7 supervision of its students?

All private schools, including Saint Paul's, take their students' safety seriously. In the case of boarding schools, their responsibility extends to 24/7 supervision while the students reside on campus. With day schools, things work differently because school opens in the morning and dismisses at the end of the day. As a

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Let's Do Something About Violence

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Let's Do Something About Violence
How many more shootings in our schools will it take before we do something about violence? Let's start now.

Editorial

Yet another horrific shooting. More innocent lives snuffed out. Twenty children sitting in their safe, familiar classroom. Gone.

These shootings have become an all too familiar story. I now think twice about visiting public places. I still go. But I am wary. The same defensive mechanism which kicks in when I drive is now present in my thinking. But let me back up a bit and explain my aversion to violence. This video gives an overview of the issue.

As a classicist I am quite familiar with our love of violent spectacles. Chariot races, gladiator contests and mock naval wars are all, as far as I am concerned, precursors of 21st century video games and movies. That does not mean that I like them. Not one bit.

My first taste of real violence was during the terrorist activities which took place in the Province of Quebec back in the 60s when I was a teen. I knew nothing of violence prior to that, having been raised in a leafy green English neighborhood in Montreal called Westmount. My family had lived there for several generations. But the French Canadians were tired of feeling oppressed and shackled economically and socially by a minority population, i.e., les Anglais. They started blowing things up. I was out for a walk one day heading north on Roslyn Avenue. I heard what I to this day recall as a thump. Not

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Preventing Teen Suicide

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Preventing Teen Suicide
This article addresses the critical issue of teen suicide, emphasizing its preventability and the importance of recognizing warning signs. It highlights the pressures faced by private school students, such as academic stress and social expectations, which can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts. The article provides guidance for parents, students, and educators on how to identify at-risk individuals and take proactive steps to prevent suicide.

Preventing Teen Suicide

Every year, there are reports of private school students taking their own lives. ]

  • Suicide casts a terrible pall over any school community.
  • It just seems so pointless, so senseless.
  • Yet, had members of the community acted on the signals the young person was most likely sending, that suicide could have been prevented.

The academic work in private schools can be very heavy.

  • The pressures to succeed, to get into the best college, and to not let parents and others down, combined with the reality of adolescent uncertainty, can create a climate for depression.
  • Depression can lead to suicide.
  • But suicide is preventable.

Canva generated this image.

Suicide is preventable.

Suicide is the 3rd largest killer of young adults between the ages of 15-24.

  • Teen suicide is preventable.
  • Know the warning signs.

The following information from Kids Health tells you what to look for.

"Suicide among teens often happens after a stressful life event, such as problems at school, a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend, the death of a loved one, a divorce, or a major family conflict.

Teens who are thinking about suicide might:

  • talk about suicide or death in general
  • give hints that they might not be around anymore
  • talk about feeling hopeless or feeling guilty
  • pull away from friends or family
  • write songs, poems, or letters about death, separation, and loss
  • start giving away treasured possessions to siblings or friends
  • lose the desire
. . .read more

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