September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

My nephew is serving in the United States Air Force. Currently, he is on a remote deployment. He accepted a challenge to do 22 pushups each day for 22 days in memory the 22 veterans who, on average, take their lives each day. He recorded his efforts and put videos on Facebook to help increase awareness of the problem.

Veterans are not the only ones who succumb to the temptation to take their lives. Suicide is a major public health concern and is among the leading causes of death in the United States. Unless we have been personally affected by the suicide death of a loved one or friend, we may not understand the seriousness of the problem.

The Centers for Disease Control offers sobering statistics about suicide. In 2017, suicide was the second leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Natives between 10 and 34 years old. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for African Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 and for Hispanic people in the United States between the ages of 15 and 34. Suicide is the leading causes of death among Asian Americans between the ages of 15-24.

According to the CDC, suicide is rampant in the LBGTQ community. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people are four times more likely to attempt suicide than straight youth. Transgender people are 12 times more like to attempt suicide than the general population.

In the US population as a whole, although women are more likely than men to attempt suicide, men are nearly four times more likely to die by suicide. In fact, 75 percent of all people who die by suicide are male. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 34 and the fourth leading cause of death for people 35 through 54. Forty-six percent of people who die by suicide had a diagnosed mental health condition.

I do not like to write about suicide. Like most teachers, I have more stories of students who died by suicide than I care to remember. Not too far in my teaching career, I was asked to speak at the funeral of a young man, a former student, who shot himself several times in the chest. He was distraught over a breakup. He was just 16. That memory still forces me to see the sorrow and despair on the faces of his family. My heart breaks.

When I was teaching at Farmville Central, last stop on my high school teaching career, I started each semester by laying out the classroom rules and expectations. Toward the end, I would tell my teen-aged students:

“You can come to me and tell me anything in confidence. I will not disclose anything you tell me – with three exceptions. First, if you tell me – or I even suspect – you are being physically or sexually abused, I will notify the authorities immediately. I am required by law to inform Social Services of my suspicions.

“Second, if you tell me you are going to hurt someone, I am going to take you to the office and report that to school authorities.

“Third, if you tell me you are thinking about harming yourself, then I am taking you to a guidance counselor immediately. I will take the same action if you tell me one of your friends is thinking about doing harm to himself or herself. In my years of teaching, I have seen too many young people hurt themselves. I won’t stand by and let it happen if I can find a way to stop it.”

You may be thinking my students never told me anything. You would be wrong. My kids knew they could count on me to be as good as my word.

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. You and I can serve as lifelines to those who are confused and conflicted – those who think they have no hope.

If someone talks about doing self-harm, take that person seriously.

If you or someone you know is spiraling and hopeless and in danger, call 911 immediately for help.

If you are in crisis or are experiencing thoughts of harming yourself or taking your life, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

You do not have to go through problems alone. People love you and care about you.

I care about you.

Mike Parker is a columnist for Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.