By Jamil Oakford/reporter

A sickness that can’t be seen or identified by simply glancing at someone has become an epidemic here in the U.S.

SE Campus will hold a workshop dealing with this epidemic: youth suicide.

“People don’t talk about it, but it’s the second-leading cause for college students and third-leading cause for junior high- to high school-aged kids,” said Michele Faith, SE counselor.

The statistics alone are staggering, including information the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation released in 2010. Compared to other states in the U.S., Texas spends the least money on mental health in the nation, Florida being the second lowest.

“That’s something to write your congressman about,” Faith said.

Faith’s workshop will be a PowerPoint presentation with video clips. The presentation will cover not just information on statistics but risk factors dealing with suicide.

“We’ll talk about warning signs and warning sign myths,” she said.

That will include the myths surrounding people who talk about committing suicide or threaten to.

Being from Louisiana and having worked with people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Faith and the people working with her realized one thing: Youth suicide wasn’t being discussed. She’s been doing workshops and talks ever since.

“I put together my first workshop for suicide during Hurricane Katrina … been doing it ever since,” she said.

And this workshop, taking place at 11:30 a.m. April 17 in SE’s North Ballroom, comes just two days before the campus’ Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention, partnered by SE’s Gay Straight Alliance. The walk will be held at 10 a.m. April 19 on campus.

“I hope you learn something that you didn’t know before, become more aware of what you do and not be afraid to get help,” Faith said. “Suicidal people want help. That’s why they talk about it.”