A Personal Request

[Carolyn Duncan]

I would like to make a request of everyone who reads these forums. But before I make my request I'd like to tell a quick story.
This past weekend I went to a funeral for my 15 year old cousin. She hanged herself in her family's living room. At first, everyone was in complete shock (some of us still are) of what had happened. None of us could understand anything of what happened for days, she left no note and no signs of a child in trouble. Apparently she was the 4th of 5 students, thus far, at her high school to have done this. The fifth hanged himself on the night of her wake. It seems there is an epidemic at their school. After the whole family gathered to lay her to rest we learned of a few disturbing facts. The kids who came to say goodbye to her told her parents that she had tried to hang herself a few days before but the belt she used broke. None of the kids bothered to tell any teachers, parents, or other adults until much after the fact. Then later on we were told that she had been cutting her arms, not trying to slit her wrists just self-inflicted wounds which were covered up by her sleeves.
My request to you all is that, no matter how minor you think something may be tell someone. Even if you are afraid of being branded as a snitch, I know kids can be truely mean, you may save the life of a person and you will save a family from much heart ache, grief, and expense ( a basic funeral is almost as much as a year of college). I didn't tell you guys about this to make you sad or to get responses of pity. I just hope that I can help save someone else's family from what I have just, needlessly, had to go through.