From left: Jean Scallon, chief executive officer of Bloomington Meadows Hospital and Indiana Suicide Prevention Advisory Council Chair; Janet Schnell, president of Survivors of Suicide of Dubois County; Brett Boggs, TVS superintendent; Alice Jordan-Miles, assistant director of IPFW.

WINONA LAKE — In December 2012, while families were preparing for the holiday season with presents, Christmas lights and baking, one family suffered a tragedy that shook an entire community. A Tippecanoe Valley High School student attending the Burket Education Center, the corporation’s alternative school, passed away from suicide. Later that same day, his father also died by suicide.

The community, heartbroken by the tragedy, was filled with questions of both why this happened and how to prevent future tragedies. Taking a proactive approach to address both student’s and community member’s uncertainties and pain, Tippecanoe Valley formed a group with representatives from both the school and community that became known as the Tippecanoe Valley Community Mental Health Task Force.

Though the community was beginning to hope for a brighter future, the tragedies continued.

In December 2012, the Friday prior to Christmas vacation, an eighth grade student and her father were both killed in a traffic accident. On Jan. 7, 2013, facing allegations of misuse of corporation funds, the TVS corporation treasurer took her own life.

The task forced continued to diligently strive to find ways to help the community heal from the numerous losses. Steps forward included attending the Indiana Suicide Prevention Summit and bringing a suicide prevention conference to the area.

As efforts continued to deal with these crippling losses, tragedies sadly continued. During the 2014-2015 school year, the lives of a middle school student and two high school students were lost to suicide. Another high school student perished in a heartbreaking accident at his home.

In a community so greatly marked by sadness, TVS has continued to strive to find hope for a better future. Today, with the generous cooperation of Grace College, this training will be available to all locals hoping to find answers to prevent future tragedies.

In a press conference held today, state experts discussed an upcoming conference that will bring both preventative knowledge and understanding to the illnesses surrounding suicide. Hoping to disperse the stigma surrounding these illnesses and having suicidal thoughts, TVS Superintendent Brett Boggs; Survivors of Suicide of Dubois County President Janet Schnell; Chief Executive Officer of Bloomington Meadows Hospital and Chair to the Indiana Suicide Prevention Advisory Council Jean Scallon; and Alice Jordan-Miles, assistant director at IPFW, met to discuss the details of the conference with the community.

Schnell explained startling facts surrounding suicide during the conference, noting suicide rates have risen since 2007. The Hoosier state is greatly impacted by this illness, reporting an average loss higher than the national average since 2009. Both Jordan-Miles and Schnell noted every 13 minutes, one person loses their life to suicide with suicide ranking the 10th highest cause of death in the U.S.

Though the loss of these lives is tragic, many more are impacted from these occurrences than one may think. Survivors of suicide include over 118,000 people annually in Indiana alone.

In the midst of startling local and state statistics, the committee planning the 2015 Indiana Suicide Conference, entitled “Journey From Hopelessness to Health”, are working to take an active stance on educating others. Nine breakout sessions will be held with two keynote speakers spanning topics including coping with these losses, responding to those considering suicide and outreach sessions for groups particularly affected by the illness, including teens, members of the LGBT community and law enforcement.

The cost to attend the conference is $25 but members of the committee stress if cost is a deterrent, to please contact them to waive those fees. The conference will be held August 27, at the Manahan Orthopedic Center in Winona Lake. The state-wide conference was largely made possible through the work of the TVS task force and Grace College.