These cupcakes are some of 200 made by a sophomore at my neighborhood high school. The student knew two of four kids who have died by suicide in our area in the past four months.

A few weeks ago, I learned about the loss of a couple of kids in my community (one in my neighborhood) to suicide. I felt so bad for the children involved, because it is a really bad place to be in when you feel like the only end to sorrow is to bring about the end of life, a permanent solution to a (more often than not) temporary problem. Today, I was reading through the mail and I came across a note from Al’s principal that offered resources and advice for dealing with kids who may be depressed and considering suicide. I did some research into what was going on with the teen suicides and there have been five in our city in the past four months. I am under no illusions about the real life problems that exist around me (Portland IS a major hub of runaway youth and the problems that they face on the street), but this was really shocking and sad for me to learn. There is no doubt that I will be making an effort to be even more sensitive to the feelings of my kids and their friends and all of the young people that I encounter. If you know any children, especially adolescents, please pay close attention to the things they say and the things they don’t say. I know I will.