Suicide Prevention

Gilroy Unified School District wants to keep all students safe. We have people who can help if you are not feeling okay. We work together with the county mental health plan so students can get free help if they need it. We can help all students, including those who:

• Feel sad or depressed;
• Feel anxious or upset;
• Have lost someone to suicide;
• Are disabled;
• Have mental illness;
• Have substance use disorders;
• Are homeless or in out-of-home settings like foster care; or
• Who are LGBTQ

To keep students healthy and prevent self-harm, Gilroy Unified School District uses Second Step at the K-5 level and OLWEUS at the 6-12 level, to teach students:

• To be mindful of their self and their feelings;
• How to be kind to everyone;
• How to make good decisions;
• What to do if someone is being mean or a bully;
• How to ask for help;
• How to get help for others; and
• How to cope with stress and trauma

If you need help or someone to talk to, you can ask a school staff person for help. School staff can only help within the authorization and scope of their credential or license. Only those with the right training and license can diagnose or treat mental illness. Every staff person, however, must be kind and caring.

School Staff are trained by experts to help:

• Look for students who are in crisis or display warning signs;
• Find the right mental health services at school and outside school; and Refer students and families to those services.
• If School staff hear or see any warning signs, they will ask a staff member to help the student. Any student who is in crisis will not be left alone. The site administrator will decide the risk of harm and how best to help the student.

If students try to hurt themselves at school, staff will:

• Remain calm and let the site administrator know what is happening; Get emergency medical services for the student;
• Be caring and stay with the student until help arrives; Offer help to the student and their family; and
• Help the student come back to school when they are ready.

If students try to hurt themselves away from school, staff will:

• Let the Principal know what is happening;
• Offer help to the student and their family; and
• Help the student come back to school when they are ready.

After a student has, or knows someone who has had, a crisis, staff will:

• Share what happened with only those who need to know;
• Make a plan with the family to help the student;
• Help the student make up any missed work;
• Be caring and help the student in school; and
• Follow up with the student and family often to see what help is needed.

If someone dies by suicide staff will:

• Send a team of mental health personnel to the school to help anyone who is in need, and
• Offer help to any families who are in need.

If any student ever needs help, they can:

• Ask any staff person for help;
• Call Crisis Hotline at 988; or
• Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255