THE TIMES THAT TRY OUR SOULS
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
If there is anything that can shock a community, it is the sudden death of one of its young people. If there is anything that can shake a community to its very core, it is the sudden deaths of several young people in quick succession. Nantucket was shaken to its very core last week when a young man's life came to an untimely end, the fourth such occurrence to strike the island in 12 months.

We don't know - and may never know - what caused the latest death. In this context it doesn't matter; we lost him suddenly. The other three were certainly suicides; people who for a moment or moments in time were driven to push themselves to what one expert calls "a permanent solution to a temporary problem."

Would that we could bring them all back to life. And would that such tragedy never happen again in our community - or anywhere else.

Unfortunately, things don't work out that way. So we must move on.

The State Department of Mental Health has brought in the expert, Dr. Robert Macy, a veteran of more than 20 years of mental health counseling and of consulting with communities faced with trauma management. Macy broadly outlined his strategy of "contagion containment" at a meeting attended by an estimated 350 people on Monday.

The immediate and important goal of Macy's protocol is to avoid repetition or "copycat" situations. It involves the schools, law enforcement and EMT professionals, mental health counselors, doctors and the hospital in taking steps to prevent future occurrences. Beyond that, Macy said that his program involves the community, but he was very short on specifics, saying they would be covered at future meetings.

If success is achieved in cutting the string of suicides or eliminating patterns of risky behavior which can result in traumatic injury or death, it will be a great thing. Even a skeptic must support the effort, because action is certainly required and Macy's time-tested program seems to be the only tool the community currently has at its disposal.

In an ideal world, the protocol would be introduced and, with no recurrences of the events which it is designed to prevent, in a few months everyone can say it has worked and go home, perhaps leaving behind some practices which have been integrated into other procedures and methodologies. In fact, that's what is likely to happen. It's human nature.

And when it involves teenagers, many of us want to turn and run. We think that spending money for the schools will take care of the problem; or making sure that the kids are programmed with sports or other activities that minimize free time; and, thus, reduce the opportunity for trouble.

A study of 15,000 teenagers recently by the University of Florida presents the sensible conclusion that there are four factors involved in teenage suicide: the individual him- or herself, the parents, the schools and the community. According to the Florida researchers, no one gets off the hook. But if you accept Macy's fact that 95 percent of people attempting suicide are mentally ill at the time of the act, then a much greater part of the burden of prevention has to fall on the parents, the schools and the community.

Prevention at the level of the individual can take many forms: among them substance abuse prevention programs, (As an aside, according to the study, drugs seem to be a much greater factor in male suicidal behavior while alcohol plays a key role in such behavior in girls.) the identification (with extreme sensitivity) of high-risk individuals; the creation of drop-in centers; the provision of counseling or, in the extreme, medical care; and so on. In fact, as the first step, Macy recommends conversations between parent and child although some might deem that wishful thinking.

In engaging people here about what might be done beyond actions geared to specific individuals, it is interesting how fast the paths diverge. One line of thinking is that the schools have to do more; that in the quest for test scores and in the continuing internal conflict over all manner of things between teachers and administration, sight has been lost of the students as human beings. Another, espoused with equal vehemence, is that many parents are disengaged and are often themselves setting a bad example through their own substance abuse or other bad behavior. There isn't much crossover between the views.

And the community? The community adulates and remembers those who excel as athletes and from time to time notices young people who excel in the arts, but beyond that the exposure of the broader community to its young people, or them to it, is haphazard at best. (I remember being stunned when a high school senior told me two years ago that he had never heard of the community carol sing on Thanksgiving weekend.)

Implementing Macy's protocol is not enough. Nantucket as a community has much to do to get its house in order with respect to its young people.

Parents need to look at themselves, and even if they can't bring themselves to have that discussion which Macy wants them to have, at least ask themselves if they are being the role models they would want for their children. By happenstance, many too many of Nantucket's children are latchkey kids, the victims of economic necessity. Accordingly parents need to make the most of the time they do spend with their children. Parents may need assistance in changing their behavior; help should be as available to them as it is to the kids.

The schools need to engage in soul searching. Is the atmosphere of education as good as it can be, with teachers buying into the educational program rather than, as in some cases, counting the days (or hours) until they get out the door; and an administration leading by example, both individually and collectively, and treating both teachers and students with the respect that their intelligence demands?

The community needs to become engaged with its young folk but not by spending more money for schools or day care - which, like it or not, increases their isolation. Get to know them; involve them, share activities; employ them. Everyone, old and young, will benefit from the interaction.

Nantucket is not unique in its problems but it is unusual in its isolation and, more importantly, in the quality of the people who live here. We are all human beings with our problems and our foibles, but there is no community blessed with any more richness of intelligence and sensitivity (including some fabulous teachers). We should take full advantage of Dr. Macy and his protocol, but also use it as a springboard to get ourselves to a level where, when this awful thing happens again - and it will, we are able, with total conviction- to say we have done everything we can.

That is the least we can do in honor of Vaughn

and Drew and Kate and Will. I

The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any ideas or comments to drake@nantucketindependent.com.