Editorial: Help to get youth out of dark places

Part of the education of young teens is preparing them for self-sufficiency, of course, but kids were never equipped to “go it alone” on everything. They need help, more than many would be willing to admit.

Even before the pandemic, the nation’s youth have been on a disturbing downward track in their emotional health, a path that can lead to suicide. Many kids need careful supervision and support at this time of their lives. The prolonged isolation of the remote learning that school districts imposed due to COVID-19 precautions has left many students in an even more precarious condition.

Locally and nationally, there have been steps taken by school communities to meet these children where they are. The view from Hawaii, at least, indicates how much further there is to go.

The issue became a statewide concern during the 2019 Legislature, which passed Act 270. That law requires the state Department of Education to collaborate with the state Health Department to develop “a mandatory youth suicide awareness and prevention training program.”

Another directive is for a model protocol for risk assessment and referral for help, for all school complex areas as well as public charter schools. But, as Honolulu Star-Advertiser education writer Esme Infante reported, certain schools have progressed more than others.

Among these are the seven campuses of the Mililani school complex, which recently conducted a parent night at Mililani High School to address what is an uncomfortable but crucial topic, “Suicide Prevention 101.” The Act 270 mandate is to deliver this material to educators, but the Mililani schools are among the first to provide this education to parents and older students as well.

This is a healthy approach to the subject. The DOE should be more forthcoming with details of what else is underway.

The 2023 legislative session would be a good occasion for such a report, an update for lawmakers and the public on its progress.

The DOE has a dedicated crisis prevention education specialist to help school complexes and individual campuses with training for safety care, suicide prevention and bullying prevention. And each of the 15 complex areas has a liaison to coordinate safety protocols and other efforts.

But is that enough? It’s time to find out. Act 270 requires reports on school training activities each Sept. 15, and a comprehensive status report would be timely.

In addition to the parent nights, Mililani High seniors received a brief lesson on suicide prevention and mental health resources last month. Another session is set for the third quarter for Mililani juniors, and then in the fourth quarter for sophomores and freshmen.

Elsewhere, the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua (LMW) complex area has launched LMW Cares, a mental health support program for the kids.

The Mililani complex is a standout in part because of the teamwork between Korene Horibata, a school renewal specialist and suicide prevention trainer for the complex, and her husband, Jarrett Horibata, a clinical psychologist and DOE employee. Surely this family pairing can be a model for how teams in other schools might form.

However it’s done, the program should be ramped up. When the law passed, testimony underscored the need. In Hawaii, 23% of middle schoolers and 16% of high schoolers had considered suicide in the past year, according to the nonprofit Parents and Children Together, citing the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey.

Such dire statistics can’t be allowed to stand unanswered. It’s Hawaii’s duty to help its keiki weather the stress of adolescence with the love and support of their community.