On a chilly January day at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, students are dressed in their standard-issue winter uniforms: chino skirts, white shirts, and black vests for the girls; black sweaters, red ties, and chino pants for the boys. Many days, the students also wear a coveted accessory: rubber wristbands—in blue, orange, red, green—bearing the emergency number for Anne Arundel Crisis Response. “I have a bunch at my house that sit with my jewelry,” says Spalding senior Alexandra Blunk. “Everyone always wears the bracelets—they’re a hit.”
While crisis wristbands might seem an odd hot accessory, the hotline bracelets are as much a necessity as a fashion statement.
Youth suicide was once rare, but among people ages 10 to 24, it’s on the rise—with an increase of 56 percent from 2007 to 2017 in the United States, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “One thing that happened is the opioid crisis,” says Dr. Karen Swartz, director of clinical and educational programs at the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center. Opioid use, explains Swartz, “unmasks or worsens mood symptoms in those with mood disorders”—and that can lead to suicide.
“The other thing that happened is all of the social media stuff,” continues Swartz. “There’s growing evidence that cyberbullying is linked to suicide risk, so it’s very concerning.”
Nowhere is that concern more pressing than in Anne Arundel County, where several years ago, a string of suicides, known as a “cluster” in social-science parlance, gave the chilling nickname “Suicide High” to an area school just down the road from Spalding.
Nationally, suicide is the second most common cause of death for 10 to 24-yearolds, and between 2007 and 2017, the suicide rate nearly tripled for children aged 10 to 14, according to the CDC report.
These staggering statistics are mirrored in Arundel County, where according to a study by the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, there were 76 suicide attempts and 42 deaths among youth ages 10-24 in the Severna Park area between 2012 and 2016.
Marcie Gibbons is a counselor at Spalding, where, six years ago, the school adopted a suicide awareness and prevention program designed by Swartz and others at the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center as a reaction to what was happening not only nationwide, but in the community. “Our administration is all about the holistic needs of the child, especially in our health and fitness class,” says Gibbons, a former hospice social worker. “This is just as important as teaching a kid CPR. They need to know the symptoms of mental illness. Mental health awareness has to be at the forefront—it’s just too scary.”
Twenty years ago, after a spate of teen suicides in the Baltimore area, Swartz, along with a small team, developed ADAP, the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program, a forward-thinking high-school curriculum to address an issue that could no longer be ignored. “In 1998, there were three suicides in the Baltimore area within a few months, which was obviously devastating for the Baltimore community and shook people into thinking that this was a real problem,” says Swartz, sitting in her Wolfe Street office in the heart of Hopkins' medical campus. “Leaders in the community came to us and said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’”
When Swartz visited one of the impacted schools, she recalls, “I was so struck by their willingness to learn, but by how little they knew—and these were well-educated people who didn’t understand depression and were really confused about how suicide could ever happen. It really underscored for me that we had to improve education.”
Over several years, Swartz, ADAP’s founder and director, and her cohorts, including several other psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses, applied their expert clinical and research skills, visited area schools, and worked with high-school faculty and students to develop and refine the material.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
SAVING LITTLE ITALY
THE ICONIC ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOOD HAS OUTLASTED ALL OF BALTIMORE’S OLD-WORLD ENCLAVES. NOW IT FACES ITS GREATEST CHALLENGE IN MORE THAN A CENTURY.
IF YOU BUILD IT
A new architecture and design hub opens at One Charles Center.
Homeschool Confidential
The good, bad, and ugly of this surreal school year.
OUT OF THE BLUE
AS THE PANDEMIC WEARS ON, EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON WAYS TO STAY POSITIVE.
Her Turn Now
Odette Ramos’ ascension as Baltimore’s first-ever Latinx City Council member did not come easily.
GAMECHANGER KWEISI MFUME
Politician, legislator, advocate
Healthy Start
Four local chefs show us that plant-based cooking doesn't have to be dull.
CRACKING THE CODE
Here’s a guide to choosing the right school or camp for your child with learning differences.
CAMELOT
“The editor at The Baltimore Guide called and said President Kennedy was coming from Washington to give a speech at the armory,” recalls Tom Scilipoti. “He said he was flying in by helicopter and was going to land at Patterson Park and asked if I’d be interested in shooting it. I said, ‘Hell, yeah.’”
Boys To Men
Twenty years after their Super Bowl win, the 2000 Ravens are still talking about what it all means.
This Moment in Time
As we move through these darker winter months let us remember that we are stronger than we think.
Stat! Medical News & Info
Physical Activity at Any Intensity Linked to Lower Risk of Early Death
Boost Your Holidays with B Vitamins
They’re critical for mood, stress, and energy. Here’s how to support your body during the holidays (and all year long) with the Bs you need.
Immune-Boosting Winter Salad
Cold weather doesn’t have to mean heavy, dense meals. This light-and-lively salad is proof.
Effective Stress Relievers that can calm your mind and body!
Stress can take a toll on your health in many ways, some of which you may not even realize what it’s doing to your body. You may blame that irritating headache, the pinched nerve in your neck, your frequent insomnia, or your decreased productivity at work on an illness. But stress may be the cause.
the weight of the world
Beyond its physical threat, COVID-19 represents a mental and behavioral health crisis of incalculable depth and severity. Charlotte’s mental health professionals are trying to grasp how bad it could get—and how to help people who need it
Children Of Quarantine
What does a year of isolation and anxiety do to a developing brain?
Protecting Our Elderly
Psychologist Explains Dynamic of Suicide Among Seniors and Lists Precautions Doctors and Family Can Take
Don't Stress It With Magnesium
Sleep, anxiety, and depression—magnesium helps improve all of them, and most of us don’t get enough.
The Worst of Times?
The coronavirus pandemic presents a chance to slow down and determine what’s really important in our lives.