Calls To Local Hotline Up Following Suicides Of Plano East HS Teens
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DALLAS (CBS 11) — As North Texas continues to struggle with the weekend suicides of two Plano East High School students, experts say the attention is increasing awareness — and perhaps encouraging others to seek help.
"We're seeing an upsweep in calls to our hotline," says Jenyce Gush, Director of Programs at the Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas. "It means they're reaching out — they're questioning, wanting to know what they could do. We've had calls from people who have said, 'my brother, my wife… I think she's suicidal. I don't know what to do.'"
But, help comes too late for 17-year-old Ritu Sachdeva. Family members found her body in their Murphy home over the weekend. The medical examiner has listed 'multiple medications' as the preliminary cause of death. Then, within hours, police discovered the body of Hillary Kate Kuizon, Richardson, also 17, hanging in a wooded area near Kimbrough Stadium.
"People want to know 'why,'" says Gush, "and sometimes there is no 'why.'"
Of course, the very nature of suicide means only the victims truly have answers to those haunting questions: the whys and what-could-I-have-dones that make survivors collateral damage of a loved one's pain.
"Oh, the 'coulda, shoulda, wouldas,'" agrees Gush, "that just really torments the survivors, and the guilt! But, people let you see what they want you to see."
Once upon a time, that was Gush's story. But, after her brother's suicide, she turned her heartache into a career spent helping others at the Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas.
"To me, education is the key … the more we know about something and the more we're able to talk about something that has such a stigma is helpful."
Although counselors have been made available to grieving students at Plano East this week, experts encourage parents to continue those conversations at home. After all, researchers say in Texas, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for 15- to 19-year-olds.
Further, according to statistics on the Crisis Center's website, 16% of Texas high school students have seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 9% have made an attempt.
Parents are encouraged to ask their teens if they have thought about suicide. Get help if thoughts of suicide have ever progressed to formulating a plan.
Gush also reminds the community that survivors' wounds need tending as well, telling CBS 11, "letting go that it was your fault, so where in time you can find peace with something that is no answer."
If you or someone you know needs help, the center's hotline 214-828-1000 is answered 24 hours a day.
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