ELK RAPIDS -- Gayle Bohl is ready to take action after two student suicides in less than a month.
"My motto is one is too many," said Bohl, the mother of an Elk Rapids High School sophomore. "Two is an epidemic."
The Elk Rapids district is reeling from the loss of two students who apparently took their own lives. One, a junior, died Wednesday, and followed a high school senior's death on Oct. 17. Additionally, a recent traffic crash claimed the lives of senior Nichole Ridgeway, 17, and 2005 graduate Andrew Bussa, 20, compounding the district's grief.
Superintendent Jon Hoover said the suicides are the first during his eight-year tenure as head of the 1,593-student district.
Bohl planned to attend a forum hosted by the district Thursday evening to discuss the deaths. She wants to bring suicide prevention to the forefront of the Elk Rapids community and school district, and that prevention could start with a stack of small yellow cards.
The cards include suicide prevention hotlines and instructions on how to deal with a suicidal person. They are left in schools, businesses and other areas frequented by students in what is known as the Yellow Ribbon prevention program.
Bohl said the system allows students to express the need for help in a quick, quiet fashion by handing the card to a friend or loved one.
"Some people have a hard time ... saying the words," Bohl said. "The card is one step removed from having to get the words out."
Bohl, who's still formulating her plans, said she'd like to eventually have a room at Elk Rapids High School where students can go for information and help with suicide prevention, in addition to the card system.
Hoover said the district hopes to work with Bohl and other community members to develop some form of long-term plan, although the forum was intended to address the most recent deaths.
"We're definitely in the process of information gathering," he said. "We'll know a lot more after (Thursday)."
