Empty backpacks a reminder of suicide's reach

Oct. 04--Monday morning, 131 empty backpacks will line the lawn at Waverly High School lawn -- a reminder of young lives lost to suicide.

The group Jared's Keepers -- a new organization dedicated to raising suicide awareness -- is calling the display "Son's silent packing." Each backpack will contain a true story about a student-age person who committed suicide.

"It's really moving," Waverly sophomore Ashley Hutchison said.

For Hutchison, participating in Jared's Keepers is important because she has seen the effects of not talking about suicide.

"When they had an assembly last year, my freshman year, it really inspired me because I have [known people] who have had problems with that," Hutchison said. "I wanted to do something to help, to be a part of that."

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for those age 10-24, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There has been a 128 percent increase in suicides among those ages 10-14 since 1980.

Natalie White, a special education teacher at Waverly High School and the adviser for the Jared's Keepers, said the organization was started by her aunt, Deb Martin, after losing a family member to suicide.

White's cousin, Jared Martin, committed suicide in 2014, just four years after his father committed suicide, she said.

After those deaths, White said her aunt thought it was her responsibility to bring awareness to depression and suicide.

"It's not something people like to talk about," White said. "We have days for breast cancer awareness and all of the other awareness days, but we don't like to talk about suicide."

While the backpacks will only be on the lawn for the day, White said they will travel to other schools and make an appearance at the organization's other events throughout the year.

Hutchison said she hopes people see the backpacks and realize suicide is a larger problem than a lot of people believe.

"It shows the number so students who will never go to school again," she said. "It's a call to activism. I hope that we can accomplish something -- to see that number get smaller and that we won't ignore it."

Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha.

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