JOYCE – Crescent School sophomore Whitley Barnes doesn’t want anyone else to go through it.
In March 2004, her best friend killed himself at the age of 13.
Barnes became part of a group, the Crescent School’s Youth Suicide Prevention Team, that helped students grieve and that provided information such as the signs of impending suicide.
“After he killed himself, it was really hard for me to know that I saw all the signs,” she said.
“I just didn’t know they were signs.”
To help raise awareness, the team and others at the school have organized a youth suicide prevention presentation, the Walk and Talk.
The presentation will be at 12:15 p.m. on Friday beginning at the school track, 50350 Highway 112.
The event, prompted by Joe Rogers’ suicide, is now in its third year.
“If I can prevent even one person from doing this, all the time and all the effort I’ve put into it will be worth it,” said Barnes on Wednesday.
“I never want anyone to have to see what I saw, because that’s my biggest fear, to see another one of my friends do this.”
Barnes and six other students on the team travel to schools throughout the area to give presentations.
“The main thing we try to get across are the three steps: show you care, ask the question and get help,” Barnes said.
The other team members are Brandon Davis, Taylor Davis, Emma Heston, Peter Lester, Nicole Norbirath and Nate Mandeville.
The students will participate in the walk around the track in remembrance of Rogers and then move into a discussion.
“Basically we give tips on things that are bad and good for helping someone in that situation, and we do some hands-on things,” Mandeville said.
He joined the group a couple months ago.
“Before that happened, I didn’t think it could happen here – nothing happens in Joyce – but it can happen anywhere,” he said.
The program won the Trevor Simpson Award from the Youth Suicide Prevention Program for smaller schools for the 2005-2006 school year after taking second place the year before, the program’s adviser Sherri Jones said.
“It’s really a great honor great to see kids participate,” she said.
“They went from really feeling grief and loss to really being empowered to prevent something like this from happening to them again.
“We were able to make a real positive switch in the experience.”
