The Invention of “Postvention”By Kelly Trumbower

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. It kills over 1,000 students each year and damages the mental health of countless others. Yet each time a suicide occurs on a college campus, the student body goes into shock, mourning, denial and confusion. When is this tragic pattern going to end? The Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA) is striving to create a better future with its establishment of a newfound “postvention” plan to introduce a better way for schools across the country to respond to campus deaths. This plan was revealed to the public on Nov. 18 and although it has created mixed feelings among experts in the field of mental health support and awareness, my opinion is very clear; I support it 100%.

As president of Ithaca College’s UChapter of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), I have been exposed to many different students’ experiences with mental illnesses, especially those that lead to suicide. Through my participation and leadership in this organization, I have seen so many emotions surrounding campus deaths and did research on HEMHA to see what exactly it plans to do to initiate changes, hoping to help Ithaca College students in the process. I discovered that HEMHA, with the help of many other organizations, has compiled a list of suggestions for schools to assist the grieving and adjustment process, stabilize the environment, decrease the risk of destructive behaviors, and limit the risk of further suicides through contagion. Some of these partnering organizations include the American College Counseling Association (ACCA), American College Health Association (ACHA), American College Personnel Association (ACPA), American Psychiatric Association (APA), American Psychological Association (APA), Association for University and College Counseling Directors (AUCCCD), and The Jed Foundation. Together, their ideals and solutions are analyzed and blended together to form the very hopeful “postvention” plan that HEMHA has today.

Suicide among college students is sickeningly high and it is extremely unfortunate that the city of Ithaca has contributed its fair amount to this negative statistic. In 2010, after three student suicides occurred within a month of one another, Tompkins County recognized the issue and installed nets on many of the accessible gorges in the area. According to the newspaper, 27 people committed suicide between 1990 and 2010 by jumping from the bridges, including 15 students, and jumping in water isn’t even the most common form of suicide that happens here. I cannot speak for everybody but on behalf of Ithaca College’s UChapter of TWLOHA, I must express my gratitude and anticipation for HEMHA’s plan to be executed in order to prevent these numbers from increasing in any way. Ithaca is in dire need of a crisis management plan when it comes to suicide, and it needs it now, before any more lives are lost.

Suicide is clearly a major issue in this country and especially this town, yet some professionals in the field of mental health support and awareness are still questioning whether the “postvention” plan is the most efficient route to take to find a solution that will improve schools’ reactions, treatments, and prevention of campus deaths. A major reason why some of these professionals may doubt this plan’s success is because suicide is a delicate topic and is caused by so many different factors, making it extremely difficult to pinpoint which of them to focus on. How could one plan fix so many different issues? Well, maybe it can’t, but it isn’t promising that it can; it is just promising to try. What do we have to lose? I genuinely believe in the goals and intentions of HEMHA for their plan involves a variety of different associations and organizations that share the same end goal and their different perspectives on resolutions is an excellent start to finding an answer and saving lives.

HEMHA is doing its best to make the “postvention” plan work; it is simply using its best resources to create a chance to help eliminate suicide. Some professionals may not think that it will be useful, but any little step that can be made for prevention of suicide is still a step in the right direction. The plan will focus on improving clinical interventions, strategic planning, and communications with students, faculty, family and the media, overall bringing morale and hope back to campuses dealing with a loss. The Ithaca College UChapter of TWLOHA is excited to learn more about the plan’s execution and hopes to see it succeed in the near future.

Kelly Trumbower is president of Ithaca College’s UChapter of TWLOHA.