Counselors are at Wendell Middle School to help students and teachers cope with the death of student. | Pexels/SHVETS
Counselors are at Wendell Middle School to help students and teachers cope with the death of student. | Pexels/SHVETS
After the body of an eighth-grade student was found on the Wendell Middle School campus, school officials responded by bringing in counselors to help students cope.
"It is an unexpected loss, and we are saddened by it,” Principal Catherine Trudell said, according to a WTVD report. “Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out to his family and his friends. As a parent or guardian, you have the opportunity to decide if this is information you want to share.”
The school was dismissed early Tuesday after the body was discovered.
Later that day, Wake County Public School leaders discussed updating the district's current mental health plan.
"School-based mental health is now available at 40 schools and eight total mental health providers are serving WCPSS students and families,” a district employee said during Tuesday's meeting, the station reported.
Therapist Ashley Gilmore with Gilmore Counseling Services says parents can get involved by discussing mental health with their children, especially suicide and other thoughts of despair.
”Creating an atmosphere at home that is safe for them, but being a safe place for them, no judgment, no consequences in some cases, and allowing them to be completely themselves and free gives them the space to be more vulnerable with the parent,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore knows it can be quite difficult to talk to children about death, but she stresses that parents need to get past the challenge.
"I know that this is so hard because of the finality of it, but have a conversation about when that really means that you don't come back from this life,” Gilmore said. “There’s no coming back from this. We don't see you anymore. You don't see us anymore. We don't want to instill fear in them, but we do want to scale the seriousness and what impact really means."
Trudell reminded parents to teach their children about suicide hotlines, too.
"These are heavy moments that we will work through together as a school family,” Trudell said.
People who are experiencing a mental health crisis can dial 988 for immediate assistance.
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