By: Leo Nieves
What is Yellow Ribbon Week?
Yellow Ribbon week is a yearly school campaign dedicated to suicide prevention, mental health, and promoting kindness for students. The goals during this week is to inform students on the warning signs of self-harm and suicide, reduce social stigma, and build supportive peer connections.
How did it start?
On September 8 1994, A 17 year old boy named Mike Emme from Westminster, Colorado shot and ended his life while sitting in his bright yellow 1968 yellow Mustang at 11:45 PM. Mike committed suicide due to a sudden break up with his girlfriend. Before he ended his life, he left a note and it said “I wish I could have learned how to hate… don’t blame yourselves, Mom and Dad. I love you.”
Both his parents and his sibling found him at 11:52 PM, only 7 minutes after Mike ended his life. After that tragedy, Mike’s family and friends wanted to help other teenagers that struggle in life and need help communicating with a trusted adult for help. The night before Mike’s memorial service, his classmates made 500 yellow cards that matched Mike’s yellow Mustang. Each card had a yellow ribbon attached, the cards reading “Please don’t do this, please talk to someone” with added emergency phone numbers.
What are we doing on campus to mark yellow ribbon week?
This year Costa Mesa ASB is creating more posters and encouraging people to dress up for yellow ribbon week. The difference from this year and last year’s yellow ribbon week is that there is more effort in encouraging people to dress up in social media. When asked for her opinion about Yellow Ribbon Week, ASB leader Lilly Doidge said “Suicide awareness and mental health is very important. It shouldn’t be recognized only this week but it should be something that everyone should be aware every single time.”
This week on campus both the high school and middle school marked the week with themed dress-ups and activities each day. The week ended on Friday with students wearing yellow and the ASB passing out lemonade at lunch. It was a well organized week by ASB, with wonderful decorations and signs to commemorate the cause.
What resources do we have on campus to help students and staff who might need help?
In addition, Mr. Aguilar explained to us all of the resources available. In addition to our regular school counselors, who are available to every student, every day, the following programs and staff are available:
- Project Hope Alliance: Ms. Tia is a counselor who works for Project Hope Alliance. School community facilitators support by providing resources for families.
- Social Wise: This program gets students connected to an outside therapist and allows them to talk to a therapist once a week for (15 min-to and 1hour) in person for free.
- Care Solace: Outside therapy students can Zoom call or in person at a treatment center. It helps with housing, dental and medical service, and food service, and students can speak to school psychologists.
Mr. Aguilar said “Mental health is very important because I want to make sure all of my students are well. I want to make sure everyone is safe and that they have a safe space on campus.”
Final words, Yellow Ribbon Week is something that is important not just one week a year, because suicide awareness and mental health matter every day. Everyone Mustang matters and you are loved and never alone.
