Local group schedules suicide-awareness training after data shows youth anxiety and suicidal thoughts

La Center — Center United told the La Center City Council on May 28 it will host suicide-awareness and prevention training the night after the meeting and urged city leaders to include youth voices in downtown planning.

Melissa Flatt of Center United said the training will be held in the Center Elementary School library from 6 to 8 p.m. and that childcare will be provided to reduce attendance barriers. The presentation will be led by staff from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Flatt said, and is intended for middle-school-age youth and older when parents judge their child ready to participate.

Flatt said her organization’s outreach grew from local incidents: “we had several [suicide] attempts and one completed” in the past and a more recent incident, which prompted the training effort. At a recent data walk for key leaders, Center United focused on measures of student hope and mental health drawn from the 2023 Health Youth Survey: 51% of boys in the survey reported “high hope,” Flatt said, which implies 49% did not; roughly one-third of students reported anxiety within the prior 30 days; and nearly one in five students had considered suicide on that survey.

Flatt asked the council and city planners to adopt a “nothing about us without us” approach — meaning involving youth directly — when designing downtown programming tied to the Downtown 2 project.

Mayor Stroban and council members acknowledged the presentation and publicized upcoming Center United events such as June 9 volunteer appreciation. Council members and staff did not take formal action during the meeting but thanked speakers and noted the community role in outreach and prevention efforts.