“It still affects me to this day, because I know she doesn’t get to experience this,” Hornick said. “Like we graduated eighth grade, and she never got to do that. I go to homecoming, and I’m like, she never got to do this.”
• MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS: More from this project
The Dayton Daily News is not naming her friend to avoid suicide contagion and protect her family’s privacy. Suicide contagion occurs when suicide is discussed in specific ways that could encourage others to die by suicide and is common when the media covers suicide.
Focusing on the person’s positive characteristics can also encourage suicide if the person’s problems are not also discussed, according to the Centers for Disease Control. To avoid this problem, the Dayton Daily News is avoiding discussing specific methods of suicide and focusing on the people who are left behind after a suicide death.
Other stories in our Mental Health Matters: Kids in Crisis series have looked at factors contributing to the youth mental health crisis. This story looks at one tragic outcome.
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 24, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. And the rate has increased dramatically in recent decades. So it’s important for parents and caregivers to know what to look for and what steps to take if they are concerned.
Hornick is now a suicide prevention leader in her school and her community. She and other friends pushed to improve Alter’s Hope Squad, a student-led suicide prevention program popular in high schools. She’s also a part of the GEM (Goal Everyone Matters) Project, a nonprofit which aims to create a dialogue around mental health through art from local high school students.
“One of the reasons I joined GEM Project is I felt people don’t talk about (mental health) as much as they should, especially, in our youth today, it’s stigmatized,” she said. “Nobody really wants to talk about it, or they think it’s weird to talk about it, and doing this is a way to introduce yourself into that and start those incredibly necessary conversations.”
‘It didn’t feel real’
When Hornick first heard her friend died, she was 13. It was April, she had just done a math assignment, and she was watching a YouTube video. She’d gotten her phone taken away for something she can’t remember now.
Her mom came into her room, and Hornick said she knew immediately from her mom’s face that something was wrong.
The funeral was hard, too, Hornick said. Since it was the beginning of the pandemic, the funeral was virtual. She and another friend watched a livestream of the funeral from the friend’s bed. It was the first time she’d seen anyone from school since the shutdown.
“We just sat in her bed, and we were just silent the whole time watching it,” Hornick said.
She added, “It didn’t feel real.”
Hornick went with her friend to a Dayton Dragons game while they were in the fourth grade, years before she died. They had pictures together from sleepovers and being friends for years.
She said when she was able to go to her friend’s viewing, that’s what she saw.
“When you look at your 12-year-old friend laying there, that’s what you see,” Hornick said. “You see those pictures from when you were younger and smiling and everybody’s happy... And so to think that she was in such a dark place that she could not tell anybody about it, or even feel comfortable mentioning it, was so unbelievable to me.”
Hornick said she knew her friend was struggling, but she did not know the depth of the problems.
Second leading cause of death among youth
Youth and young adults ages 10–24 years account for 15% of all suicides in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control. While the suicide rate for this age group ― 11 deaths per 100,000 people ― is lower than other age groups, suicide is the second leading cause of death for this age group, accounting for 7,126 deaths in 2022.
Additionally, suicide rates for this age group increased 52.2% between 2000 and 2021.
In Ohio, from 2015 to 2019, there were 291 deaths by suicide among youth between the ages of five years old through 17 years old, according to the most recent data in Ohio Department of Health’s Child Fatality Review. This includes 188 deaths of teens 14 to17 years old.
In 47% of the 291 deaths, the child had communicated suicidal thoughts or intentions, according to the Child Fatality Review. At least 12% had a history of substance use.
In 2020 and 2021, suicide deaths among kids ages 10 to 14 increased to 2.8 per 100,000, which was still lower than the 2018 high of 2.9 per 100,000, and dropped to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2022.
But the data was even more alarming for young adults ages 15 to 24, when the suicide rate jumped to 15.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2021, before dropping to 13.9 deaths per 100,000 in 2022.
Young boys and men are more likely to complete suicide, but young women and girls are more likely to be thinking about and planning a suicide, according to a separate, long-term 2021 study from the CDC.
The impact of suicide can also be a costly one for the nation. In 2020, suicide and nonfatal self-harm cost the nation more than $500 billion in medical costs, work loss costs, quality of life and other costs, the CDC says.
‘Deep down, they want to talk’
If a parent is worried about their kid, they should reach out to the child’s health provider, such as their pediatrician or family doctor, for help on next steps or to have their child screened.
Many primary care providers can help parents determine whether or not their child’s behavior warrants a visit to a see a mental health care provider like a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist.
Dr. Steve Liptak, a child and adolescent psychologist for Upper Valley Outpatient Behavioral Health Services in Troy, said to tell the child’s pediatrician if a family member believes they are depressed.
“They will know exactly what to do,” he said. “They have mental health screeners now at virtually all medical practices.”
The screening methods are also effective, he said.
“Deep down, they want to talk,” Liptak said.
Parents are encouraged to talk to, and practice actively listening with, their children, Liptak said. Active listening means not only listening to what children are saying but also having empathy for what they are feeling.
It’s that connection and feeling understood that is going to be like a lifeline for children and teens who are experiencing suicidal ideation, he said.
“So how we’re going to help kids ultimately who are suicidal is through social connection,” Liptak said.
If an adolescent reaches out for help on their own, sometimes the first people they may try and talk to are their friends. Many schools have implemented Hope Squad groups, who are monitored closely by teachers, and meant to give a struggling teenager someone to talk to.
If a child or teen hears a friend discussing plans or thoughts of suicide, they should tell an adult, like their parent or their friend’s parent, Liptak said.
“I have yet to see the suicidal person drop a friend because they informed on them,” Liptak said.
Hope Squad
Her friend’s death pushed Hornick to join Hope Squad when she got into high school.
During her time at Alter, the Hope Squad started a Mental Health Field Day, where they gave out resources at tables among other activities. Hornick said in a quote book she got back after the event, one person wrote, “I haven’t smiled like this in so long.”
“The fact that people were made happier, or we just made somebody’s day by doing that ... that, to me, is a huge benefit, because otherwise they would just have had another awful day,” she said.
She added, “I think we’ve really let people know that it’s OK to talk about things like this, and even if people don’t at first, I’m glad that going forward, people will look at me as someone you can talk to.”
She’s still going through the stages of grief from her friend’s suicide, Hornick said. It’s been more than four years. She talks to her friend’s mom regularly to update her about her own life.
“I pray about her all the time, and I think about her all the time,” Hornick said of her friend.
But she said she feels she is honoring her friend’s legacy by talking about suicide prevention.
“I feel like I’m doing my part, and that’s really been the best part about being members of things like Hope Squad and GEM Project, and that’s why I’m so passionate about it,” Hornick said. “There’s people that are truly going through these things, and you don’t know that unless you sit down and have a conversation with them.”
Resources
Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. The Lifeline provides 24-hour, confidential support to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Call 911 in life-threatening situations.
If you are worried about a friend’s social media updates, you can contact safety teams at the social media company. They have processes to reach out to connect the person with the help they need. For more information, visit 988lifeline.org/help-someone-else/support-on-social-media/.
