National tourism champion Kayda Lee McLean is urging students experiencing distress and suicidal feelings to seek help, as resource persons are available to assist them.

McLean, a student at the St. Catherine-based Charlemont High School, said that responsible adults are in the communities and at schools, and “when young people reach that limit, they can go to the guidance
counsellors”.

“They can also speak to their form teacher if they are not comfortable to speak to the guidance counsellor. Don’t hurt yourself,” she pleaded while speaking at the school on October 7.

Recently, the Government expanded its suicide-prevention programmes through partnerships and training of community members to offer interventions.

Some 531 school personnel have also been trained to detect when students are having issues, so that action can be taken to help them.

Help can be obtained by dialling the Jamaica Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline at (888) 639-5433.

Jamaica observed its first Anti-Bullying Day on October 7, aimed at raising awareness about the impact of bullying and calling all education stakeholders—students, teachers, parents and communities—to take a stand for kindness, respect, and safety.

“You might see a classmate, whose shoes are crumpled, or their clothes are torn or not ironed, and you decide to tease them that they are poor and can’t afford another one. But you do not know what’s happening with that classmate, or if they are having a deeper issue, and when you tell them that, that might just push them to the breaking point, and they might commit suicide or something else,” Kayda Lee said.

She highlighted the negative use of social media by many people, emphasising that “social media is there to provide encouragement, to spread positivity, and we are not supposed to use it as a platform for negativity”.

Kayda Lee also pointed out that YouTube and other platforms have useful resources for educational advancement.

She explained that winning the national tourism debate title for her school “felt invigorating”.