Report: State hotline fielding more calls about student suicide, self-harm concerns

Reports of suicidal or self-harming thoughts by Pennsylvania students reported to the state’s Safe2Say Something tip line increased after schools shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an analysis by Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Between July 2019 and March 13, 17% of all tips received by the program were related to issues such as suicide and self-harm. On March 13, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered schools to close statewide in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

Over the next three months, 37% of reports to the tip line were for life-safety matters, according to Shapiro’s analysis.

“This pandemic has made clear that a stronger safety net needs to be in place to protect kids at any time, not just in schools,” Shapiro said. “We have to try innovative new ways to reach kids in need, including making child protective and mental health services available at home.”

In Westmoreland and Allegheny counties, nearly 3,700 reports were made through the tip line during the 2019-20 school year. The program is a 24-hour anonymous tip line that allows students, parents and teachers to report something suspicious or a person who poses a threat to themselves or others.

That’s a 12% increase from the previous year, when nearly 3,240 reports were made in the two counties. Statewide, 23,745 tips were received — about the same amount the program received between January and June 2019. Prior to the shutdown in March, the program was on track to field about 37,000 tips, according to the report.

The top three types of tips statewide remained the same for both school years — bullying, suicide and self-harm. The tips are reported online, through a mobile app and by phone call.

Westmoreland

The 20 schools affiliated with the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit saw the third-highest number of tips in the state with 1,674, according to the report. Most were related to bullying (237), followed by smoking in school (224), drug use (180), suicidal thoughts (116), cutting or self-harm (112) and depression or anxiety (79).

Between January and June 2019, 1,304 tips were reported at schools in the unit.

An initiative to connect students with mental health resources, called Step Up Westmoreland, was established in late 2018 among the intermediate unit, county government and public and private schools. Students and educators gathered in October to talk about ways to help with mental health and wellness in schools, such as forming clubs and promoting positivity.

Intermediate unit student services supervisors Rebecca McGee and Jason Stragand hope to increase the number of students and therapists participating in monthly virtual sessions that feature a discussion.

“At every meeting, there will be a featured speaker who will talk about how trauma affected their life,” Stragand said.

Neither were surprised that students reported having more mental health challenges after the closure of schools. McGee said the virtual sessions are a way for students to connect on a monthly basis regardless of whether they’re learning at home or in school.

The unit is offering outreach funding to provide middle and high schools with $500 each to help create or continue with groups focused on improving mental health and wellness among students, Stragand said. So far, 10 schools have taken advantage of the funds.

Allegheny

The 36 schools in the Pittsburgh/Mount Oliver Intermediate Unit and another 42 in the Allegheny IU saw the second highest number of tips in the state with 2,013. Figures for the two units were combined in the report. Most of the reports were related to bullying (335), followed by drug use (173), suicidal thoughts (150), cutting or self-harm (135) and school violence threats (103).

Between January and June 2019, 1,940 tips were reported at schools in the units, the most in the state.

Officials at those units did not respond to questions from the Tribune-Review.

Tips can be anonymously submitted by calling 844-723-2729, on safe2saypa.org/tip or through an associated smartphone app. Workers at a call center in Harrisburg judge tips for legitimacy and forward them on to the appropriate school district or police department.