It’s Time to Talk About Suicide

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The country is reeling from the suicide of Katie Meyer, a loved and respected Stanford student and athlete, just 22 years old.

For the MBF team, this is another young soul gone too soon and our hearts break for her family, friends, and all young people who may be struggling. We send our deepest condolences to her family.

For anyone struggling, please call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

From this tragedy, we want to share a message of hope and encourage everyone to start talking about suicide, because currently, we are failing as a society. And we have to do better.

  • Globally 800,000 people die from suicide every year – that’s twice the number from homicide. (World Health Organization)
  • In the U.S., suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 10 and 34. Every year, more people die by suicide than in car accidents or homicide. (National Suicide Prevention Hotline)

Depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems are at an all-time high. Yet prevention and access to care are not priorities. And they should be. We can all be a part of the solution by learning more about the issue, having open, honest conversations around suicide, and providing resources to those who need help.

The National Suicide Prevention Council has a Take 5 to Save Lives campaign with 5 steps each and every one of us can do to help prevent suicide:

  1. Learn the Signs
  2. Know How to Help
  3. Practice Self-Care
  4. Reach Out
  5. Spread the Word

Schools and other youth-serving organizations can and SHOULD teach mental health and substance use/abuse prevention lessons using MBF Mental Health Matters. Learn more at https://mbfpreventioneducation.org/mbf-mental-health-matters/.

And individuals can visit Take5toSaveLives.org and

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/how-we-can-all-prevent-suicide/ to learn more and do better.

Let’s not let this beautiful young woman’s death be in vain. Let it propel us all toward action and provide us with the hope that we CAN do better, and the commitment that we WILL do better.

Rest in peace, Katie Meyer. You will not be forgotten.

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The MBF Child Safety Matters program is impressive. This important information is well formulated and well presented, developmentally appropriate, and based on good understanding of literature.

David Finkelhor, Ph.D.

Crimes Against Children Research Center

The MBF Teen Safety Matters curriculum hosts an in-depth approach to important social and safety concerns relevant to youth. The program content is age-appropriate with engaging activities, jargon, and realistic situations to positively promote a relatable and impacting learning experience…Teen Safety Matters is an educational benefit to all parties involved – students, parents, facilitators, and schools.

Sharon W. Cooper, MD

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

There’s not a child in the world who can’t benefit from this program. There are so many instances where we see children who have been damaged and hurt. Things happened to them and we think, if they’d only had this program, if they’d only had the benefit of this education, that might not have happened to them. If we can prevent that from happening to a single child, then it’s worth all the effort we have put forth.

Edward Burr

MBF Founder/Chairman of the Board
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