Recent Suicides Spark Discussion Well Beyond Newton Borders

The Newton community continues to reel from the suicides of two Newton high school students this month – and the tragedies have sparked a discussion well beyond the Newton borders.

New York University student Helen Holmes, who graduated from Newton South High School, wrote a poignant opinion article on NYULocal about the suicides of Karen Douglas and Katie Stack – and the schools’ reaction to them.

Holmes questioned school officials' letters that didn't use the word "suicide." We, as a society, shouldn't avoid the phrase, she said. 

“As a culture, we must stop perpetuating the cycle of denial and grief and denial that comes with the incredibly difficult task of grappling with teenage depression and suicide…

“While I cannot and will not ever comprehend the direct motivations for what drove Karen and Katie and many others to places they felt were too deep and dark to ever fight their way out of, to simply omit the fact that their deaths were suicides is an insult to the people who love them most and a step backward in society’s attempt to better understand and treat people in crisis,” wrote Holmes.

Read the entire article here.