About a month ago, Sharla Miller was scrambling. She knew she needed to do something; the response from last year’s “13 Reasons to Fly SEK” conference had been too positive to ignore. Yet the pandemic kept closing doors, making event spaces impossible to reserve and speakers hesitant to commit.
So Miller reached out to her friend Jodi Grover, a former Iola High School counselor who is now the chief operating officer of VIBE Interactive, a digital company based in Ottawa that focuses on student mental health and social and emotional learning. Grover assured her they could do an event virtually.
And here they are: Over 110 people have already registered for a second year of “13 Reasons to Fly SEK,” an event dedicated to suicide prevention education for youth and communities at large, which will occur this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
The virtual format will include a series of sessions, panels and a keynote speech by Isabelle Cole, founder of the national 13 Reasons to Fly movement, all transmitted via Zoom.
Though forced to do the event online, Miller said, “Moving forward, this could be a blessing — a chance to think outside the box and still make this event happen no matter what. We’ll do this every year, as long as it takes.”
The message is simple: Not one more. Not one more life lost to suicide. And no matter the setbacks along the way, the storms to weather, Miller remains undaunted. More than a year has passed since she lost her son to suicide, and she passionately asserts the need to break the stigma around talking about mental health.
In fact, Miller is convinced “13 Reasons to Fly SEK” is something our community needs more than ever. “From all the numbers experts have shared with me, we haven’t even seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how COVID has wrought havoc on our kids,” she said. “Kids have had to stay home, they can’t get out, some have been quarantined. Mental health will be as big an issue as ever moving forward.”
Recent trends affirm Miller’s instincts. The Center for Disease Control reports that suicides, overdoses and domestic abuse have all increased during the pandemic, and there have been several studies indicating alcohol consumption has spiked as well.
The urgent crises caused by the pandemic have arrived at a particularly dangerous time for a country already dealing with an opioid epidemic and a concerning increase in suicide.
Last year, before COVID even touched America’s shores, the nonpartisan organization Trust for America’s Health reported that drug-related deaths among those ages 18 to 34 more than doubled from 2007 to 2017, while alcohol-related deaths rose by 69% and suicides by 35%.
In 2018, the U.S. reported the highest age-adjusted suicide rates in almost 80 years. Suicide was the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States in 2016 and the second-leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 34.
It is clear why mental health and suicide awareness advocates are sounding the alarm. And while Miller doesn’t claim to have the answers, she believes, “We have to just keep on, keep on and keep on.”
Grover’s experiences with young people have taught her they are not just open to talking about mental health; they’re yearning for the opportunity, even though they may not show it.
“Kids want to talk about this stuff with parents. They know there’s a need,” said Grover. “And if we can help our young people seek help, have good coping skills and regulate their emotions, we can create positive well-being so that they can live productive lives.”
SATURDAY’S activities will begin with a keynote speech from Cole, who was also the featured speaker at last year’s event. Participants will then break out into session “rooms,” with four options to choose from. Sessions will vary on a theme: promoting mental health awareness.
