Melissa Carr, born about 1983, student in Detroit, MI
Subj: Detroit Teens Upset Over Suicides
Date: 97-10-21 10:32:03 EDT
From: AOL News
BCC: Pat Noble
.c The Associated Press
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) - Students at Henry Ford II High School
held a candlelight service for four classmates who had committed suicide. Two
days later, a 15-year-old freshman hanged herself.
It is a seemingly endless nightmare that has distressed and angered
students in this Detroit suburb. The suicides, all involving current or
former Ford High students, began in June.
Now some students are making plans to form a support group that will
offer despondent classmates a chance to talk and find hope.
``People don't realize they're really cared about. All of this
attention is glorifying it and making it worse,'' said Jeff Galasso, a
17-year-old senior. ``Suicide breeds suicide. They don't understand the
permanence of what they're doing.''
The Utica School District has hired a psychotherapist specializing in
grief and loss issues to train school counselors, 20 of whom were available
Monday to meet with students.
``Instead of making (counselors) available where students go to them,
we have them in the classroom for them,'' district spokeswoman Hildy Corbett
said. ``Things are definitely not back to
normal. There's a lot of grief, a lot of anger, shock.''
Students and parents also will be able to meet with the therapist
Thursday, one week after the candlelight service was held.
``People are saying the school's not helping,'' said Melissa Carr, 14,
a friend of the girl who hanged herself Saturday. ``The school's doing a
lot.'' . . .