NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Five New York City public school students have died by suicide since the start of the school year.
Three students took their own lives in the last three weeks, the New York Post reported.
In the entire 2019-20 school year, there were 4 student suicides.
“It breaks our hearts to see a concerning rise in suicides among New York City’s schoolchildren," the city's Department of Education said in a statement. "Our schools have gone to incredible lengths to support the social and emotional well-being of students remotely and in person -- this year has been traumatic for so many, and we are providing students with access to social workers, and crisis support teams to help prevent these tragedies from occurring.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his daily briefing Wednesday that he is very concerned about the rash of suicides among New York City school kids, calling it "very, very painful."
The mayor pointed to the trauma of the pandemic, the disruption of the normal rhythms of life and the resulting isolation.
"The fact that these kids have gone through this crisis, the trauma they felt, many kids have lost loved ones, many kids are feeling really isolated in the absence of the regular rhythms of their life and particularly the absence of school for some of them," de Blasio said. "This is why it's imperative we bring back schools as quickly as possible."
Elementary schools welcomed students back into the classroom in December and middle schools in the city will reopen next week.
The city is working on a plan to reopen high schools for in-person learning, but no date has been set.
The mayor said he hopes to bring back schools "100 percent, in-person strong" come September.
De Blasio notes that unlike in the past, every school has mental health services, but underscored it's not easy when kids aren't in person.
"We're trying to make sure that guidance counselors, social workers, principals, everyone is thinking about if there's a child with a mental health need that we're speeding those services and supports to them right now," de Blasio said. "We're really trying to help every child, but the best thing we can do is just get more and more kids back into school as quickly as possible."
If a parent is concerned about their child’s mental health, they can speak to the social worker or guidance counselor at the school, connect with NYC Well at 1-888-NYC-WELL, or access a suite of resources available via the DOE here.
If you or someone you know needs help call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting 'Home' to 741741.