Elyssa's Mission Parent Letter

The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions – difficult for students, their parents and educators. It is easy to misinterpret depression as “normal” adolescent moodiness; however, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age. Depression – which is treatable – is a leading risk factor for suicide. In addition, self-injury has become a growing problem among youth.

To proactively address these issues, Middle School North is offering depression awareness and suicide prevention training as part of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program. The program aims to increase help-seeking behaviors among students concerned about themselves or a friend. Listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, the SOS program showed a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64% in randomized control studies (Aseltine et al., 2007 & Schilling et al., 2016).

Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:

• To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness

• To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression

• To provide students with the training on how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in themselves or a friend

• To impress upon youth that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns

• To help students know whom in the school they can turn to for help, if they need it

This program will be presented to all students on Monday, November 3, 2025. The SOS program is brought to us by Elyssa’s Mission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. Elyssa’s Mission is the only organization in the state of Illinois to fund, distribute and implement SOS. To get more information on suicide prevention, visit their website at www.elyssasmission.org. Make sure to view their online Parent Presentation at https://elyssasmission.org/for-parents/ for specific information on warning signs and how to keep your child safe. We also encourage you to visit www.sossignsofsuicide.org/parent for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn.

As part of the program, facilitators will show SOS video clips and lead students in discussion. Students will then complete a brief depression screener as well as fill out a Response Card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult about themselves or a friend. The depression screening tool addresses thoughts and feelings which a parent may be unaware their child is having. This tool does not provide a diagnosis of depression, but rather alerts school staff to those students requiring further investigation. School mental health staff or a qualified community mental health partner will be available to meet with designated students; school staff will subsequently notify parents/guardians regarding any needed next steps.