Yellow Ribbon Program

LEBANON COUNTY CHAPTER

THE YELLOW RIBBON PROGRAM

A Teen Suicide Prevention Program

Did you know?

Teens and youth who appear to be happy can be screaming silently in emotional pain.

Suicide victims are not trying to end their life. . . they are trying to end their pain!!

What can we do?

We can learn about and use the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program to help save lives.

This program empowers young people, giving them permission and a way to ask for help by simply handing the YR card to anyone.

Seminars and presentations that teach awareness and suicide prevention are available. The Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program is active in the U.S. and 47 countries. Please contact the MHA for more information or the Yellow Ribbon Coordinator.

Life Skills

A well-known life skill for saving lives in an emergency is “Stop-Drop-Roll.” This YR program teaches another vital emergency life skill – “Stay-Listen-Get Help.”

The Yellow Ribbon “Ask for Help” Card explains the skill, instructs the person receiving the card what to do, and helps a young person when they are faced with this life-threatening situation .

Teen Suicide Facts:

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people ages 18 – 25.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in young people ages 10 – 15.
Sixty percent of all suicides are accomplished with firearms.
Between 1980 – 1996 suicide among children ages 10 – 14 increased one hundred percent.
Suicide takes the lives of over 30,000 Americans every year.
Every 18 minutes someone completes suicide.
Seventy-five percent of all suicides give some warning of their intentions to a friend or family member.

Warning Signs

abrupt changes in personality
giving away possessions
withdrawing from group activities – people
changes in sleep and eating patterns
use of drugs or alcohol
chronic pain complaints – or, restlessness

Risk Factors

high expectations (self, family, school)
depression & low self-esteem
loss – a relationship, a person, a family divorce – even an important game or exam
stress – in family, life, a new situation (i.e. a new school)
feelings of “differentness,” not fitting in
being bullied & teased

It’s OK To Ask 4 Help.

Suicide IS preventable. People want to end their pain – not their life.

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Real Life Story by Bev Abernethy - Yellow Ribbon Program Coordinator

On May 7, 2004, my son, Daniel Dean Abernethy, took his life. My world, my life changed literally in a heartbeat, and neither would ever be the same again. My story is not unique, but it is tragic, and you need to hear it.

Daniel had just turned 19. A young man filled with promise and ability, intelligent, a straight A student at Lebanon Catholic, graduating 6th in his class, attending Tri-State University, in Angola, Indiana on an academic scholarship studying mechanical engineering. He was athletic and participated in numerous sports. Daniel was well-adjusted, outgoing, friendly, social, had many friends and a great smile for all. He was our only child, an only grandchild, much loved. Daniel enjoyed his life, his friends and his many interests. This does not describe a young man who would throw it away and end his life; however, that is exactly what he did.

I am not a trained professional, an expert on suicide, but I am a mother who came home from work one Friday afternoon to find her son had put a gun to his head, pulled the trigger and put his demons to rest. Looking into those beautiful blue eyes, now lifeless, knowing that in that instant what he’d done and the realization that I could do absolutely nothing to change it. My son was gone, as was the future I’d planned for, hoped for. The most painful part of being left behind is to remember the future you cannot have.

I cannot begin to tell you what these months since then have been like. The times I’ve been unable to function. The times I could do nothing but collapse in a heap on the floor.

Remember: There are risk factors, but there is no profile.
My message to parents: be aware and be vigilant. Know that any child is vulnerable, any child could be a victim. When talking about suicide, how often do you hear someone say, “I had no idea.” Well, you are about to hear it again, I had no idea. . .no one did, not even Daniel’s closest friends. While Daniel’s suicide is most difficult to understand and comprehend, it is not unusual. You would be right to think he did not fit the profile, except there is no profile. There are as many reasons as there are victims.

My plea to young people: don’t do it. If you believe suicide is the only answer, you are so wrong. You must believe that there are alternatives, because there are. Communication is key. As difficult as it might be, talk, talk to someone, anyone. . . parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, a teacher, a priest or minister, take advantage of The Yellow Ribbon Program.

I read recently that every life has its dark and cheerful hours. Happiness comes from choosing which to remember. I choose to remember all the wonderful times I shared with Daniel. A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it. I can no longer hear or see Daniel, and it is truly most painful. Suicide is a choice, a terrible, tragic, sad choice.

I beg you, choose life, choose to live. Trust your instincts. Tell a secret if necessary to save a life.

In Loving Memory of Daniel Abernethy
(March 13, 1985 – May 7, 2004)

“When you lose your parents, you lose your past, but when you lose your children, you lose your future.”

Beverly Abernethy – Parent and Coordinator of the Yellow Ribbon Program (717) 274-5995

The Yellow Ribbon Program – for the prevention of teen suicide.