Not one class was held at Arapahoe High School on Wednesday.
It was a non-academic day -- allowing students, staff and parents to grieve and get support after two students from the senior class died in the past week.
One of the students ended his life, according to the Arapahoe County Coroner.
Arapahoe High School also said in a letter to parents that it was going to cancel this Friday's varsity football game against the Cherry Creek High School.
In a letter to parents, Arapahoe High School's Athletic Director Pat McCabe wrote: "The effect of those events has been nothing short of crisis amongst Arapahoe’s student body, staff, and community. The Arapahoe Warrior Football team, in particular its upperclassmen, have been impacted significantly."
Bev Marquez, CEO at Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners said it’s crucial for parents to talk to their kids about the subject of suicide.
“I think one of the things that parents and all of us are reaching for is, 'How do we have the conversation?'" she said. “What we know is that no child is immune. This is a safety conversation in their world, in their society, that needs to be part of dinner conversation."
Marquez said the conversation can be hard and scary, but it’s a must.
"A lot of kids that contact us, for example, are afraid to tell their parents or their school what they're thinking or feeling because they don't want them to freak out; they don't want them to call the police, to be in trouble," Marquez said.
She said talking about suicide breaks down that barrier.
"Sit down and...say, 'This is a tough conversation,'” Marquez said. “I don't know if I'm very comfortable having it myself. I haven't had this conversation a lot, but I know that I need to."
There are 16 different crisis lines that go through Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners. One of them is Colorado Crisis Services -- which offers texting.
The organization is launching the "Below the Surface" campaign (Text TALK to 38255) to shine a light on the texting feature. The goal is to reach teens that may be in need and let them know someone cares.
"We want to get active in this, just like we do with some of the other illnesses and epidemics that have happened in our country and our world,” Marquez said. "It's just like when we learned about giving CPR because we never knew if we were going be in a place where a person might need it. This is real similar to that."
Marquez said parents also needs to start learning more about suicide so they can become that safe place for their kids to talk. She said parents don't need to have all the answers, they just need to try.
"It makes it less alarming, have less stigma. It opens up the door for the conversation.
"A lot of parents probably know more about what they need to do than they think that they know. We really want to help them figure out why they want to keep living," she said.
Resources to prevent suicide:
Crisis Text Line: Text 741-741 from anywhere in the USA, anytime, about any type of crisis.
Lifeline Crisis Chat: Chat online with a specialist who can provide emotional support, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention services
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
