'Survivor Literature' class taking on suicide prevention

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The number is (800) 273-8255.

Students in the Survivor Literature class at East Aurora High School have studied some serious topics: the Holocaust, Hurricane Katrina, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the plight of child soldiers, homelessness.

But this year's topic hits home the most for students, teacher Shane Gillespie said.

It's suicide prevention and mental health.

"It was surprising that in eight years of projects this one never came up," Gillespie said. "This year we've probably had 40-plus kids who have had a very personal connection to the topic, whether it's themselves or a family member or someone who has struggled."

Mental illnesses will affect half of all Americans throughout their lives, according to Mental Health America, and half of those diagnosed will develop the condition before age 14.

So when one of the 180 seniors taking Survivor Literature suggested mental health and suicide as a topic of study for the year, the rest knew they were in for an important conversation.

"As students, we just thought, 'This has to be a serious topic. Let's take it seriously,'" East Aurora senior Eric Bolivar said.

The class analyzes each topic it studies to learn what it takes to be a survivor. This year's project aims to increase discussion of mental health and teach students to seek help if they feel suicidal - and to survive.

"We need to talk about it and we need to help people that suffer," Gillespie said.

Studying survival

In the fall, the class began studying the book "Cracked, Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt." By hosting a walk April 16, the students aim to raise enough money to bring author Kevin Hines to speak at the school April 28 in a free event at 7 p.m. that is open to the public. If the students reach their $16,000 goal, Gillespie said the majority of the money will go to local organizations that work to prevent suicide and provide mental health services.

The 16-mile walk will take place overnight, beginning in the darkness that typically surrounds suicide, making it taboo to talk about.

"Bringing that stigma out of the darkness and into the light is a great analogy," said Alyssa Relyea, a board member with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Illinois, which hosts its own Out of the Darkness fundraising walk each fall. "Anything that a class is doing to find out more about mental health and suicide prevention is outstanding and commendable."

The walk will travel along the Prairie Path and end at RiverEdge Park in Aurora, where students will take in the sunrise along the Fox River and meet with counselors from Suicide Prevention Services of America in Batavia.

"We'll be there and be proactive and help people debrief," said Executive Director Stephanie Weber, an East Aurora alum.

But where the walk starts tells another aspect of the story of why this year's students are so passionate about preventing suicide.

Walking in memory

The walk will begin about 11 p.m. April 16 at Wheaton North High School, where former East Aurora student Yoshihiro "Yoshi" Soto was a senior when he took his life in October.

Shortly after students began "Cracked, Not Broken" last fall, East Aurora alum and past Survivor Literature student Daianna Soto reached out to her former teacher with the sad news.

Soto said she told Gillespie what happened with her brother in hopes his classes would study mental illness. Gillespie told her they already were.

"I didn't even know they were working on it," said Soto, 23, of Bloomingdale. "It was bizarre."

Soto spent an emotionally draining day telling her brother's story to each class period of Survivor Literature.

"He was very smart. He wanted to go into genetics," Soto said. "He was so selfless that no matter what he was going through, he always tried making everyone laugh or making an awkward situation a little bit less awkward."

Students like Bolivar listened quietly, attentively, interested in Yoshi's life and his struggle with depression. Yoshi had been in class with Bolivar and his peers until the Soto family moved after his freshman year at East Aurora.

"It was really hard to believe that his mind was thinking that way and he would end his life," Bolivar said.

Soto told the students she has learned depression is not "just a phase" that the afflicted can "get over."

"By helping families become a little bit more accepting to that, it will help the person come forward and ask for help," Soto said.

Suicide prevention education in schools is one way to increase understanding of the mental illnesses that can lead people to take their lives, and East Aurora students get it from Weber's organization, Suicide Prevention Services of America. She said the program works to "normalize" the fact that suicidal thoughts do occur.

"Many, many people can have those feelings, but what they really want to do is end the pain," Weber said. "They don't want to end their life."

To her, the fact Survivor Literature students are reading about suicide, talking about suicide prevention and walking to raise money for the cause says a lot. She said it shows the topic is beginning to break free of the long-standing cultural silence and come out of the darkness - at least among this group of high schoolers.

"I'm a firm believer in our kids not only getting suicide prevention training," Weber said, "but getting involved in the advocacy and the awareness, which is exactly what this class is doing."

• If you or a loved one are in crisis, visit the nearest emergency room or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

How to help

What: Pasta dinner for Survivor Literature class suicide prevention project

When: 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31

Where: East Aurora High School cafeteria, 500 Tomcat Lane, Aurora

Who: Dinner hosted by Communities in Schools to benefit a project of about 150 students taking Survivor Literature at East Aurora High School

Why: To raise $16,000 during an overnight walk April 16 and 17 for suicide prevention and mental health awareness and to bring <a href="http://www.kevinhinesstory.com/">Kevin Hines</a>, author of "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cracked-Not-Broken-Surviving-Thriving/dp/1442222409">Cracked, Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt</a>," to speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28. at East Aurora High School in a free, public appearance

Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for students; includes pasta, salad, a breadstick and lemonade

Tickets: Email Survivor Literature teacher Shane Gillespie at sgillespie@d131.org; limited tickets at the door

To follow: @TomcatsWalk on Twitter

To donate: Visit <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/outofthedarkness16">www.gofundme.com/outofthedarkness16 </a>