TV Special Examines One Of America's Most Disturbing Problems - Teen Suicide

Free DVD and Resource Kit Available To Educate And Inform Communities Nationwide

This is National Suicide Prevention Week and MetroBeat TV released a special edition of its Student Voices television series in the Denver market called "Teen Suicide." The program examines the serious and disturbing issue of teen suicides and currently airs on Comcast Channel 8 in the Metro Denver market.

While Colorado has one of the highest suicide incident rates in the country, and the Rocky Mountain region leads the country in suicide death rankings, teenage suicide is by no means a problem only out West. It's the second leading cause of death among young people nationwide. One in five American teens has thoughts of suicide and 6,000 young people across the country commit suicide each year - and the problem isn't going away. (a)

In the one-hour edition of MetroBeat TV's "Student Voices, seven area teenagers whose lives have been affected by the self-inflicted deaths of their friends or family members, or who have attempted suicide themselves, gather to talk with host Brian Harper about this epidemic of despair. With the help of guest experts, they also brainstorm some solutions. This special program forgoes the series' usual upbeat graphics and music because of the gravity of the subject matter that is addressed.

What are the warning signs? How can these tragedies be prevented? And what can be done to help a friend who is feeling suicidal -- or even yourself? These are just some of the questions that are explored.

Because of the severity of the problem, the producers are making free DVD copies of "Student Voices: Teen Suicide" available to any business, municipal or public access TV station, social support group, civic, church or youth organization that may wish to use the program to promote awareness of this very serious problem in their own community.

Accompanying the DVD are print and electronic resources that can be easily customized and updated to complement and promote other local presentations of the show, including a template press release, fact sheet and resource list.

For more information, or to request a free "Student Voices: Teen Suicide" DVD and resource kit, those interested can send a request through the contact section of the http://www.metrobeat.tv website.

"Like many of our shows, this program began with a series of e-mails from our viewers. Once we learned that the Rocky Mountain region led the nation in suicides and that as many as 18 teens a day were killing themselves nationwide, we knew we had to do something special," said MetroBeat TV's Executive Producer Dan Sitarski. "We think we did and we hope this program will help make a difference and even save lives."

"Student Voices" is a MetroBeat TV series that is produced in association with the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania that empowers students and involves them in their own communities. MetroBeat TV is a new collaborative pilot project between Comcast and 25 greater Denver Metropolitan Area communities that helps improve the quality and relevance of local programming.

(a) Sources: August 2006 -- Colorado Department of Public Heath and Environment/Office of Suicide Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Brown University, and the American Psychiatric Association.

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