Last year, a girl I was friends with in high school, lost her 11-year old sister suddenly. I did not know how she passed away until a few months ago when I was invited to a fundraiser on Facebook. I click on the fundraiser page only to find out that my friend’s 11-year old sister died last summer by suicide. The Ann Marie Foundation “has been established with the mission to prevent bullying and youth suicide and increase internet safety through awareness and education.”
From The Bullying Statistics Website,
The statistics on bullying and suicide are alarming:
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.
- Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University
- A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying
- 10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide, according to the study above
- According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying
I wanted to share The Ann Marie Foundation website with all of you, as I feel like the more awareness we have about youth suicides in our culture — as well as mental health awareness — will decrease the stigma our culture has about suicides and give struggling teens the inspiration to reach out for help.
