Candlelight Vigil Article

In a park where boys and girls run and play, men and women stood and wept.
A place that on the morning of Sept. 14 was bathed in sunshine, in the evening glowed with candles.
Friends, neighbors, schoolmates and acquaintances of a Mount Si High School 11^th-grader, who was in critical condition, met just north of Cascade View Elementary School in Snoqualmie for a candlelight vigil in support of him.
The teen attempted to take his own life the weekend of Sept. 11, according to a letter Mount Si High Principal Randy Taylor sent to parents. The news was shared with staff members and students Monday morning, Taylor wrote.
A schoolwide announcement was made to let students know that counselors were on hand if they needed someone to talk to, and the school auditorium was set up for students to drop in if they needed support. Students also created posters, to be taken to the hospital, with personal messages for the student.
On Sept. 15, the Star learned that the student had died.
Parents should be aware of what their children are going through as a result of the news, even if they didn’t have a close relationship with the teen, Taylor wrote. He also included ways for parents to talk to children about suicide, and listed warning signs and resources in the lengthy letter.
A PTSA meeting scheduled for Monday night was also rescheduled, so parents could be home with their children.
At the vigil, Christian music played over loudspeakers. People’s sobs could be heard over the songs.
Darkness overcame the twilight, but the candles kept visible the grief in peoples’ faces.
“We know we are not in control,” Curtis Lilly, a youth pastor at LifePoint Church, said into a microphone. “What we can do is go to Jesus.”
He then asked the crowd to pray for a miracle that can bring the teenager back to health.
Prayers continued. Wax teardrops began to fall on the grass. Real ones continued to cascade down faces.
A candle balloon was released into the night skies, shooting west then east. Hundreds of hands raised candles at once, a symbol of unity that Lilly said came with a steep price.
“It’s awful that something like this has to happen for unity to take place,” he said later.
After the vigil was over, people huddled in smaller groups to pray and cry together.
The ceremony closed with another lifting of hands, and the words of Kevin Giacomoni, youth pastor for Space 8036, the teen center for Church On The Ridge.
“To the students among us, look around. All these people love you. All these people are willing to help you,” he said. “If you ever have any problems, you don’t have to handle them on your own.”
Common warning signs that indicate a need for action:

• Prior suicide attempts
• Talking about suicide, particularly “how”
• Giving away possessions
• Preoccupation with death
• Loss of sleep, appetite or energy
• Hopelessness or anxiety
• Drug or alcohol use
• Difficulty thinking clearly
• Excessive sleep
• Withdrawing after a period of trying to get attention
• Recent suicide attempt by a friend/family member

Resources
Suicide hotline: 800-SUICIDE toll free (784-2433) or 800-273-TALK toll free (8255); TTY: 800-799-4TTY (4889)
Teenlink: 888-431-8336 toll free (6-10 p.m. Monday – Friday)